98 Detoxicating Effect of the Liver [March, 



opening of the peritoneal cavity. With the carcass lying on its 

 back, the muscles and fascia to the right of the median Hne of the 

 abdomen were thoroughly cooked with a soldering iron. An in- 

 cision was made, with a sterile scalpel, through the cooked tissues 

 into the peritoneal cavity. The liver was removed piecemeal, with 

 sterile scissors and forceps, and placed in a sterile mortar with ster- 

 ile broken glass, and then ground to a pulp. No effort was made to 

 weigh the liver-substance used, all endeavors aiming at transference 

 to sterile flasks as soon as possible, to avoid contamination. Ap- 

 proximately 10 gm. of the liver pulp and glass were placed in one 

 Erlenmeyer flask (a) and about 20 gm. in another (b), while the 

 third flask was a control (c) : 



Liver pulp A, lo gm. B, 20 gm. C, none 



/3-ImidazolyIethylamin in saline sol., i-iooo (c.c.) ... lo c.c. 15 c.c 5 c.c. 

 Toluene (c.c.) 4 4 4 



All flasks were incubated at 2)7° C., for 24 hr. Inoculations from 

 all flasks were then made on agar and in bouillon to test the sterility, 

 which showed no growth in 48 hr. The Contents of the flasks were 

 filtered and the filtrates used for injections into guinea-pigs. Dale 

 (2), as well as the writer (3), has shown that 0.5 mg. of yö-imidazo- 

 lylethylamin, injected into the blood stream, kills a 300 gm. guinea- 

 pig in 6 min., from spasm of the bronchioles and suffocation. In- 

 jected into guinea-pigs on a basis of 0.5 mg. per 300 gm. of weight, 

 there was no effect for the Solutions that were incubated with liver, 

 büt for the control Solution there were the usual fatal Symptoms. 



That this action is due to some enzyme seems probable, for 

 heating to boiling inhibits the detoxicating action. Further study 

 will no doubt elucidate this problem but the scarcity of material 

 has, for the present, required postponement of the experiments. It 

 is also of interest to note that the power of causing urticarial lesions, 

 possessed by this amin, to which the writer called attention last year 

 (4), is also destroyed by heat. 



Füll protocols of these experiments will be published as soon 

 as a sufiicient quantity of the amin can be obtained for final tests, 

 but justification for this preliminary note is found in the hope that 

 some one more fortunate than the writer may have sufiicient of the 

 amin to be able to complete the study ; or that these results may lead 



