CHAPTER III 



THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ANTIBERIBERI AND THE ANTIRACHITIC 



VlTAMINES TO LlPOIDS 



The object of this chapter is to show that vitamines B and C have 

 presumably not the slightest relation to the lipoids. It is, of course, 

 more difficult to demonstrate this as regards vitamine A. The asso- 

 ciation of these two classes of substances, the lipoids and the vitam- 

 ines, came about through the conception that lipoids, and especially 

 lecithin, are not pure products but may contain vitamine as an 

 impurity. It has often been stated by Cronheim (609), and by 

 others, that lecithin is of significance in metabolism, while Robertson 

 (610) noted only an inhibition of growth on feeding this substance 

 to mice. 



In biochemistry, the idea has long been prevalent that when 

 animal or plant tissue is extracted with alcohol, or better still, with 

 ether, the fraction in the solvent can be regarded as a lipoid. In our 

 first investigation, carried out in the Lister Institute in 1911, which 

 had for its purpose the isolation of vitamine, we convinced ourselves 

 that an extraction with alcohol removes a great deal of nitrogenous 

 matter (purines, pyrimidines, etc'.), in which the vitamines are also 

 to be found. This observation was made use of by McLean (611), 

 working in the same Institute at that time, to remove nitrogenous 

 impurities from lecithin. For this purpose, a crude lipoid from horse 

 meat was finely divided and repeatedly extracted with water. In the 

 first alcoholic extract, as well as in the watery extracts similarly 

 obtained, the presence of carnosine, hypoxanthine and vitamine was 

 demonstrated with certainty. For the purpose of vitamine isolation, 

 these mother liquors were given by McLean to Cooper (I.e. 535) who 

 readily fractioned out the vitamine. For the above mentioned 

 reasons, it is likewise evident that the growth-promoting influence 

 of the lecithides of the liver, isolated by Iscovesco (612), was due to 

 the presence of vitamine. The same is perhaps true for tethelin, 

 isolated from the hypophysis by Robertson (613). This lipoid, 

 regarded as pure, gave reactions for purine bases, as well as a diazo 

 reaction, so that it is certain that we are not dealing with a pure 

 lipoid in this instance. 



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