New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 377 



At present we have no data as to the quantitative percentage 

 of inosite monophosphate in wheat bran. We hope, however, to 

 make some determinations in this direction later. We wish to reserve 

 the further study of the physiological properties of this substance 

 in connection with the general investigation which is being carried 

 out at this Station. We also beg to reserve the study of the cleavage 

 products obtained under different conditions and other derivatives 

 of inosite monophosphates. 



EXPERIMENTAL PART. 



The crude nitrogen-containing substance 4 was dissolved in water 

 and a concentrated solution of lead acetate added in excess. The 

 resulting precipitate was filtered, washed thoroughly in cold water 

 and then suspended in hot water and decomposed with hydrogen 

 sulphide. The lead sulphide was filtered off and the filtrate boiled 

 to expel hydrogen sulphide. The solution was then strongly acid 

 to litmus and it had a sharp acid taste. It was again precipitated 

 as above three times with lead acetate. The pure white colored 

 lead precipitate which was finally obtained was decomposed with 

 hydrogen sulphide. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuum at 

 a temperature of 40°-45° and then dried in vacuum over sulphuric 

 acid until a thick, practically colorless syrup remained. On scratch- 

 ing with a glass rod this immediately began to crystallize, forming 

 a white, solid mass. It was very soluble in water, but insoluble in 

 alcohol. It was extracted several times with 95 per ct. alcohol, 

 filtered and washed in absolute alcohol and ether and allowed to 

 dry in the air. For recrystallization it was dissolved in a small 

 quantity of water and absolute alcohol added until the solution 

 turned slightly cloudy. On scratching, the substance began to 

 crystallize. After standing in the ice chest over night it had separated 

 in large colorless plates or prisms arranged in star-shaped aggregates. 

 It was recrystallized a second time in the same manner. 



The substance was free from bases and also free from nitrogen 

 and sulphur, but it contained organically bound phosphorus. The 

 aqueous solution gave no precipitate with ammonium molybdate 

 on being kept at a temperature of 65° C. for some time but after 

 decomposing by the Neumann method it gave an immediate precipi- 

 tate of ammonium phosphomolybdate with this reagent. 



The substance has no sharp melting point. When rapidly heated 

 in a capillary tube it softens at 200° C. and decomposes under 

 effervescence at 201°-202°; when slowly heated it begins to soften 

 at 188° and melts under decomposition at 190°-191° (uncorrected). 



It is optically inactive. A 10 per ct. solution in a 1 dcm. tube 

 shows no rotation. 



•From its isolation from wheat bran see Journ. Biol. Chem. 12: 456 (1912); N. Y. 

 Agric. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 22, p. 10 (1912), and also the preceding article. 



