THE DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS OF PROTEIDS. 69 



obtained no asparaginic acid nor tyrosine. Hofmeister x 

 has, however, obtained small quantities of asparaginic acid. 

 From elastin, Horbaczewski 2 has obtained by the same 

 method ammonia, leucine, tyrosine, glycocine and amido- 

 valerianic acid C 5 H„N0 2 (butalanine), but no glutaminic 

 nor asparaginic acids. Siegfried, working on a substance 

 he obtains from reticular tissue, and which he calls " reti- 

 culin," obtained ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen and 

 amido-valerianic acid, but no tyrosine nor glutaminic acid. 



By the employment of this same method, Drechsel has 

 discovered two new bodies, lysine and lysatinine, which are 

 of especial interest. He was induced to take up this ques- 

 tion by a consideration of the quantities of the different 

 nitrogenous bodies which had been obtained. Assuming 

 that only one half of these bodies had been isolated by 

 the methods hitherto employed, there still remained about 

 30 per cent, of the original nitrogen to be accounted for. 

 Now contrasting Hlasiwetz and Habermann's results with 

 those obtained by Schiitzenberger, Drechsel 3 points out 

 that carbonic anhydride was produced by the latter method 

 but never by the former, and he therefore argues that there 

 must be some other body which should be capable of isola- 

 tion, and which on treatment with barium hydrate will yield 

 carbonic anhydride. 



We have already seen that Schiitzenberger 4 considers 

 this would be of the nature of a ureide. Considering it 

 probable, therefore, that this substance might be of a basic 

 nature, he determined to first ascertain whether he could 

 isolate it as a precipitate by phosphotungstic acid, being led 

 to employ this reagent on account of its known value as a 

 precipitant of bodies of an alkaloidal or basic nature. In 

 this expectation he was completely successful and obtained 

 a very bulky precipitate from which he was able to isolate 

 two bases, which he named lysine and lysatinine. 



Lysine has a formula C 6 H I4 N 2 2 which is homologous 



1 Zeiischr. f. physiol. Chemie von Hoppe-Seyler, vol. ii., p. 299. 



2 Sitz. der K. Akad. zu Wien, bd. 92, Abthlg. 2, s. 657, 1886. 



3 Der Abban der Eiiveiss-stoffe du Bois Archiv, p. 248, 1891. 



4 Loc. at. 



