Organic Substances 109 



no conclusions whatsoever as to the aldehydic or ketonic na- 

 ture of carbonyl groups. The Angeh-Rimini reaction is known 

 to be negative with a number of aldehydes even in test-tube 

 experiments;"^^ it is invariably negative histochemically with 

 unquestionably aldehydic substances. 



4. Estrone, testosterone, and desoxycorticosterone give 

 negative reactions with Seligman and Ashbel's reagent under 

 the conditions of the histochemical test. 



5. The carbonyl reactions in tPie tissues are so intense that 

 they must be due to a substance which constitutes a substan- 

 tial percentage of the lipid material. 



On the basis of these findings, Gomori comes to the con- 

 clusion that the "battery of reactions" is due not to keto- 

 steroids but to auto-oxidation products of unsaturated fatty 

 acid esters of cholesterol. 



In summary, it may be said that, for the time being, we do 

 not possess a single reaction capable of identifying ketones, 

 let alone ketosteroids, in the midst of a large bulk of hpid 

 aldehydes. This view is shared by the vast majority of work- 

 ers who have studied the problem critically (Gomori;^^ 

 Aboim;^^ Albert and Leblond;^- Claesson and Hillarp;^^ Bos- 

 cott, Mandl, Danielli, and Shoppee;^^ Boscott and Mandl;^^ 

 and Sayers^^ ) . The invariable association of ketosteroids with 

 aldehydes ( but not vice versa ) simply means that the steroid 

 hormones are handled metabolically, at least up to a certain 

 point, very much like cholesterol. 



In addition to aldehydes and ketones, a number of other 

 compounds have been asserted to give a positive test with 

 Schiff's reagent. According to Lison,'^^ ethylenic double bonds 



74. Angeli, A., and Angelico, F.: Gazz. chim. ital., 33-11:245, 1903; 

 Angeli, A., and Marchetti, G.: Atti reale Accad. Lincei, ser. 5, cl. di sc. fis., 

 mat. e nat., 17-11:360, 1908. 



75. Aboim, A. Nunes: Bull. Soc. port. sc. nat, 14:119, 1943. 



76. Claesson, L., and Hillarp, N. A.: Acta anat, 3:109, 1947. 



77. Boscott, R. J., Mandl, A. M., DanielH, J. F., and Shoppee, C. V^.: 

 Nature, 162:572, 1948. 



78. Sayers, G.: Physiol. Rev., 30:241, 1950. 



79. Lison, L.: Bull, d'histol. appliq. a la physiol., 9:177, 1932. 



