372 NITROGEN BASES 



The so-called ptomaines are all decomposition products of 

 the complex nitrogenous substrate upon which the moulds or 

 bacteria are growing, but are not actually found within the 

 organisms themselves. 



In the higher forms of plant life, on the other hand, these 

 bases are actually secreted by and stored up in the plants ; 

 " muscarine," for example, occurring in Amanita muscaria. 

 The term muscarine is applied to more than one substance ; 

 used to indicate the poison of Amanita muscaria, its constitu- 

 tion originally was thought to be that of a trimethylamino 

 acetaldehyde, the formula of which is given below. King,* 

 however, has shown that this is not so, and that the pharma- 

 cologically important constituent of the fly agaric is not re- 

 lated to chohne and is not even a quaternary base. 



Lack of space permits but the briefest reference to the 

 chemistry of these substances. 



Choline, "muscarine," betaine, and neurine are closely 

 related, as may be seen from their formulae — 



the relationship to each other of the first three being that of 

 alcohol, aldehyde, and acid anhydride.f 



Choline and muscarine occur in the toad-stool, Amanita 

 muscaria. Betaine and choline frequently occur together, as 

 for example in the germ of Hordeum sativum, Triticum sati- 

 vum, Vicia sativa, Lathyrus sativus, Gossypium herhaceum, and 

 several other plants. Betaine alone occurs in the juice of the 

 beet % and in tubers of Helianthus tuberosus. Choline is far 



* King : " J. Chem. Soc," 1922, 121, 1743. 



t The name betaine is derived from the fact that this substance was 

 first obtained from the beetroot (Beta vulgaris). It is the anhydride of 

 hydroxytrimethylamino-acetic acid — 



N(CH3)3 iOH: N(CH3)3\ 



I : : ^ H,0 I >o 



CH^COOH ; CH2CO / 



The alkaloid stachydrine (see p. 362) is a derivative of this substance. 

 X For the preparation of betaine from this source, see " Ber. deut. chem. 

 Gesells.," 1912, 45, 241 1. 



