A NOTE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF CHLORATE IN 



A WOMAN FATALLY POISONED BY 



POTASSIUM CHLORATE 1 



JACOB ROSENBLOOM 



(Laboratory of Biological Chemistry of Columbia University, at the College 

 of Physicians and Surgeons, New York) 



Through the kindness of Prof. J. H. Larkin, the writer received 

 certain organs from a woman who had taken about 50 grams of 

 potassium chlorate by mistake. It was thought that a study of the 

 amount of potassium chlorate in these organs would prove of inter- 

 est, especially as the analysis could he sfarted within twelve hours 

 after the woman's death. 



The materials received for examination, together with the 

 amounts of potassium chlorate found in each, are indicated below : 



Material 



Intestinal contents 



Kidney 



Spleen 



Liver 



Blood (from liver) , 

 Heart 



Amount 



320 C.C. 



SS grams 



82 " 

 162 '• 

 200 " 



42 " 



Potassium Chlorate 



Found, Gram 



0.0393 

 0.0177 

 0.0922 



o.o8s4 

 0.0623 

 0.049s 



Total Amount 

 Recovered. Gram 



0.3464 



The chlorate was determined by the usual method of precipita- 

 ting aliquot portions with silver nitrate before and after reduc- 

 tion with zinc dust, and weighing the silver chloride precipitates. 

 The writer found that such precipitates are often contaminated with 

 purin bases. They must be dissolved in warm ammonium hydroxid 

 Solution and reprecipitated with nitric acid for the purification of 

 the silver Compound. 



Since this woman took about 50 grams of potassium chlorate, 

 the rapidity of the excretion of the salt and of the reduction of the 

 chlorate to chloride are well shown by the smallness of the quantities 

 present in the tissues, as chlorate, at the time the analysis was made. 



^ Prof. John H. Larkin will publish a pathological study of the organs of 

 this case at an early date. For a thorough discussion of potassium chlorate 

 poisoning see Witthaus: Toxicology, 191 1, p. 690. 



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