4o8 



Cleavage of Pyromucuric Acid 



[April 



striking analogy between benzene and the two heterocycles, fur- 

 furane and thiophene, led Jaffe^ to a study of the behavior of the 

 corresponding derivatives of these substances in the animal organ- 

 ism. As was anticipated, fiirfurol behaved exactly as did benzal- 

 dehyde, undergoing oxidation to the acid and then conjugation with 

 glycocoll, and was ehminated principally as pyromucuric acid. 

 Similarly, thiophenic acid was excreted as thiophenuric acid. 



None of these heterocychc analogues of hippuric acid have, to 

 OUT knowledge, been studied with reference to their cleavage. 

 Knowing from previous work that the lower fungi produce an 

 enzyme capable of hydrolyzing hippuric acid, we thought it would 

 be of interest to test their activity toward one of these heterocyclic 

 Compounds. 



With this object in view the following experiments were under- 

 taken. Cultures of seven molds were grown for two weeks on the 

 nutrient medium previously described.^ The extraction of enzyme 

 was efYected by the following method : The mycelium was washed 

 with distilled water, ground in a mortar with fragments of glass 

 and the juice obtained at a pressure of 350 kg. per sq. cm. In each 

 case about 20 c.c. of extract were obtained, 10 c.c. of which were 

 used in the enzyme experiment and 10 c.c. in the control. In the 

 enzyme experiment, 25 c.c. of a i per cent. Solution of pyromucuric 

 acid,* previously neutralized with sodium hydroxide, were added 



TABLE I 



Data pertaining to the cleavage of pyromucuric acid 



^Jaffe and Cohn : Berichte, 1887, xx, p. 2311; Jaffe and Levy: Berichte, 

 1888, xxi, p. 3458. 



'Dox and Neidig: Loc. cit. 



* The pyromucuric acid was prepared by the method of Jaffe and Cohn. It 



