THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



4t 



Saccharin (benzoic sulfinid). An anti- 

 septic we have hydroxy lamin NHj-OH 

 the hydrochlorate of which forms a sub- 

 stitute for pyrogallic acid and chrysaro- 

 bin. Mercurial antiseptics containing 

 the aniido group are mercurous forman- 



ide HCONH>^^ Succinimid mer- 

 cury 

 (c.H,<^g>N-Hg-N< ^g >C,H,) 



As an amido-salol we have salophen (p- 

 aceto - amido - phenyl - salicylic - ester). 

 From what we have thus far seen of the 

 amido group it is evident that a satisfac- 

 tory explanation of its therapeutic sig- 

 nificance, is scarcely possible, consider- 

 ing the present state of our knowledge. 



INFLUENCE OF THE CARBOXYL AND SUL- 

 PHONIC ACID GROUPS ON THE TOXIC 

 PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. 



Erdmann's* investigations have shown 

 that the antipyretic derivatives of para- 

 amido-phenol, as phenacetin and pheno- 

 coll are rendered totally inert, when 

 rendered soluble by the preparation of 

 their carboxylic and sulfonic acid deriva- 

 tives. Further the introduction of these 

 groups into other antipyretics have de- 

 monstrated the same. Bodies of well 

 defined toxic properties suffer a marked 

 diminution of action. This observation 

 is of the greatest value from a hygienic 

 standpoint in the coal-tar industry, for 

 the introduction of these groups in the 

 aniline colors, thereby rendering them 

 inert, removes the objection to their 

 employment as color for candies, foods, 

 products, etc. These bodies on entering 

 the system are split up into their various 



*Phar. Centh. '92-357. 

 fMeiic'i^i Chem. Ztg '92 212. 

 iSchneegans&Mering— Therapeut Monatshcft '92 — 327. 



constituents or compounds ; now the 

 chief causef of poisoning is to be found 

 in these reduction phenomena; so in this 

 case a lessening of toxic effect may be 

 explained in that the carboxyl (COOH) 

 represents a group saturated with oxygen, 

 which is no further reduced in the or- 

 ganism. Napthalin, pyridin and chino- 

 lin are toxic, their corresponding car- 

 boxyl derivatives are far less so. The 

 introduction of the COOH group into 

 acetanilid (malon-anilic acid CeHsNH — 

 CO— CHo— COOH) yields an inert com- 

 pound. While the phenols show strong 

 toxic properties, this is considerably 

 lowered or sometimes entirely lost in 

 their carboxylic and sulfonic acid deriva- 

 tives. Guaiacol f C6H^<Cq-^ ""j 



is of the greatest value in treatment of 

 tuberculosis, but its carboxylic acid deri- 



/ /-OCH3 \ 

 vative CeH3 — OH possesses only 



\ ^cooh; 



feeble antiseptic properties. 



It has been fovmd that those bodies 

 which exert a powerful action upon the 

 nervous centers lose this action entirely 

 in their sulfonic acid derivatives. This 

 has been borne out in the alkaline salts 

 of caffeine sulfonic acid (nasrol or sodium 

 sulfocaffeate) having lost their effect on 

 the vasomatoric center while the diuretic 

 effect is retained. 



The primary alcohols are less narcotic 

 than the secondary, and these less so than 

 the tertiary I . In the tertiary alcohols, 

 the medicinal action depends upon the 

 nature of the alcohol radical, which is 

 united to the tertiary carbon atom ; is the 

 radical CH3 present as in tri-methyl-carbi- 

 nol (tertiary-butyl-alcohol CH3)3=C-OH) 

 the action is relatively feeble ; with intro- 

 duction of ethyl groups (C0H5) it in- 

 creases in ratio to the number of such 



