i8 



THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



this country, and that promise to do the 

 first and best work that has yet been put 

 forth from American laboratories. 



The next monthly lecture under the 

 auspices of the Lecture Committee of the 

 Alumni Association, will be given on 

 January 12, at 8 p. m., by Dr. W. S. 

 Disbrow. The title is "Medals of Med 

 icine and its Collateral Sciences." 



The lecture hall was filled on Monday, 

 Dec. 20th, by an appreciative audience 

 that listened with interest to the lecture 

 by Dr. Geo. C. Diekman, of the College 

 of Pharmacy. His subject, "Ptomains 

 and Leucomains," was skillfully handled, 

 and presented an interesting and compre- 

 hensive view of the recent chemical in- 

 vestigations on the subject. 



Abstracts and Reviews. 



Determination of Indican in Urine. — 



Amann, Repertoire de Pharmacie, 



After acidulating with a few drops of 

 sulphuric acid to 20 c.c. of urine, 5 c.c. 

 of chloroform is added, and to this mix- 

 ture 5 c.c. of the persulphate of soda is 

 added. The whole is then shaken in a 

 test tube — not to such an extent how- 

 ever to break up the chloroform layer. 

 The results show that the indigo formed 

 is found in the layer of chloroform. The 

 water is colored red and according to the 

 intensity of its coloration some idea may 

 be obtained of the amount of skatol pro- 

 ducts. This method has the advantage 

 of rapidity. 



Researches on Chlorophyll. — Pharm. 

 Zeit. Puss., xxx vi., 419. 



Stocklasa finds that a great similarity 

 exists between lecithin and chlorophyll, 

 both in constitution and in decomposi- 

 tion products. Chlorophyll cannot be 

 formed without lecithin, while the action 

 of the sun produces both lecithin and 

 chlorophyll. The former accumulates in 

 the leaves, developing phosphorus-con- 

 taining bodies. Green leaves contain 

 large quantities of phosphoric acid in the 

 form of lecithin and chlorophyll. Stock- 

 lasa was unable to obtain the chloro- 



phyllan isolated by Hoppe-Seyler; he 

 obtains chlorophyll by the process for 

 isolating pure lecithin. In this way he 

 obtained a body which he terms chloro- 

 lecithin, a blackish-green crystalline 

 mass containing 3.37 of phosphorus. 

 Chlorolecithin was found to contain 

 choline, glycerin, phosphoric acid, and 

 chlorophyllinic acid; the coloring of the 

 substance being due to the latter body. 

 This compound is, however, different 

 from the chlorophyllan isolated by 

 Hoppe-Seyler. After numerous tests 

 the author concluded that the formation 

 of chlorophyll depends on the presence 

 of phosphorus: he also confirms the 

 opinion of Gautier and Molisch that no 

 iron is contained in chlorophyll or chlo- 

 rolecithin. Iron plays an important part 

 in the constituents of the cell nucleus, 

 however, since it has been ascertained 

 that this structure is not formed without 

 phosphorus and iron, while chlorophyll 

 contains phosphorus only. 



Red Spots on Leaves. — Bull. Soc. 

 Bot. Pal., 1897, P- 8 3- 



Sig. G. Mattej has investigated the 

 nature of the red spots which occur on 

 the leaves, petals, and other organs of 

 many plants, species of Lysimachia, Ox- 



