3^4 Vitamines and Deficiency Diseases [June-September 



scribed by these authors. Among the substances detected with 

 certainty were betain, nicotinic acid, cholin, guanin and adenin. 

 Guanidin was probably also present. We also isolated a product 

 which, in spite of several recrystallizations, had a constant melting 

 point and was either a mixture or a very unstable Compound of 

 betain and nicotinic acid. This combination could not be isolated by 

 crystallization but was obtained either by extraction with hot alcöhol 

 or by precipitation with copper acetate. It was also found that the 

 substance isolated by me from the vitamine fraction, to which 

 the formula C26H20O9N4 had been ascribed, and which on analysis 

 showed the composition of nicotinic acid, was really nicotinic acid 

 as suggested by Barger (25). 



Spinal cord. Voegtlin and Towles (26) prepared extracts 

 from spinal cord and made the very interesting Observation that 

 alcoholic extract of fresh cord has less effect than that from cord 

 which, previous to extraction, is allowed to autolyze f or 2 days. One 

 cc. of extract corresponding to 4 gm. of dry cord was enough to 

 eure pigeons but insufficient to maintain their body weight. 



Yeast. Schaumann (2y) fractioned yeast with methods used 

 for the Separation of Phosphatids. Yeast was extracted with 96 

 percent alcohol. The residue after evaporation of the alcohol was 

 partially soluble in ether. The ethereal sol. was precipitated with 

 acetone. The precipitate was curative. It was incomplete, how- 

 ever, some of the vitamine remaining in Solution. The vitamine, 

 according to Schaumann, is present in yeast in several different un- 

 stable combinations. In the same paper Schaumann describes his 

 tests of seeds of Phase olus radiatus. It was found that they lose 

 their protective power with storage without undergoing any visible 

 microscopic changes. 



Based on my hydrolytic study of yeast, which proved that com- 

 pletely hydrolyzed yeast retains its curative power, Cooper (28) 

 performed some experiments on autolysis of yeast. Fresh brewer's 

 yeast was left for 36 hr. at 35° C. The autolyzed product was as 

 strongly curative as the original yeast. To this mixture 95 percent 

 alcohol was added and the liquid filtered. The filtrate was precipi- 

 tated with basic lead acetate. Practically all the vitamine was found 

 in the filtrate. The drying of yeast at 20° C, previous to autolysis. 



