On the Conversion of Albumen into Urea. 537 



chloride of phosphorus is the same as that of hydrochloric acid ; 

 bodies are formed which have already been described by Berthelot. 

 By the action of bromide of phosphorus a large number of brom- 

 hydrines are produced ; a class of bodies consisting of glycerine 

 which has assimilated hydrobromic acid, and lost the elements 

 of water in various proportions. Of these, the principal are mom^ 

 bromhydrine, epibromhydriney and dibromhydrine. 



Dibromhydrine, C^ H^ Br^ 0^=0^' H^ 0^ + 2H Br-4H0, is a 

 neutral liquid of an eetherial odour similar to that of chlorhy- 

 drine. It boils at 219°, and is twice as heavy as water. 



When ammonia is pased into its alcohohc solution, bromide 

 of potassium is formed, and the bromide of a new base, qlycerani'* 



mine = N ^g jje q4 r Br. The base, separated from the bromide 



by treatment with caustic potassa, is liquid, very soluble in water 

 and in sether. It is not volatile with the vapour of water, and 

 cannot be distilled without decomposition. It forms with bi- 

 chloride of platinum a crystalline double salt. This is the first 

 example of a base containing a saccharine matter. 



Heated with metallic tin to 140 degrees, dibromhydrine is 

 decomposed with the formation of bromide of tin, and of a pe- 

 culiar organic compound containing tin ; insoluble in water, but 

 soluble in sether, but which could not be obtained in a crystal- 

 line form. 



Treated with perbromide of phosphorus, dibromhydrine affords 

 compounds in which more equivalents of hydrogen are replaced 

 by bromine. 



M. Bechamp* has furnished a most important contribution to 

 physiological chemistry, in effecting a direct proof that the urea 

 in the animal oeconomy is derived from albumen or other ana- 

 logous bodies. He has shown that albumen may be transformed 

 directly into urea by a slow oxidation produced by permanganate 

 of potassa at a temperature of 80°. 



M. Dumas, who announced this discovery to the Academy^ 

 stated that he had frequently tried to effect the same change. 

 He endeavoured to imitate the process which takes place in the 

 blood by slowly oxidizing the albumen in the presence of an 

 alkali. He had employed bichromate of potash, oxides of mer- 

 cury and silver, and peroxide of lead with alkalies, but without 

 success. , s^*?>ai mm w^ym^, '^ mms.^*- «5AJAi*'v^?uJv.-^ 



M. Dumas communicated on the same occasion the results of 

 some experiments of M.Picard,on the presence of urea in the blood 

 and its diffusion through the organism. Long ago Prevost and 

 Dumas had concluded that urea was eliminated by the kidneys, 



* Comptes Rendus, September 8. 

 Phil, Mag, S. 4. No. 82. Suppl Vol. 12. 2 N 



