Chapter XV 



THE PREPARATION OF EXTRACTS OF THE 

 ADRENAL CORTICAL HORMONE 



Attempts to prepare extracts of the adrenal cortex containing 

 its vitally important hormone have been made by many 

 workers. 455 Abelous and Langlois 3 in 1891 prepared extracts 

 which they claimed prolonged the survival period of adrenal- 

 ectomized frogs. Brown-Sequard 98 in the following year also 

 prepared extracts which, he claimed, gave temporary relief 

 when administered to dying adrenalectomized animals. Num- 

 erous other workers reported the preparation of extracts which 

 they believed to contain the active principle of the adrenal 

 cortex, but these claims like those of their predecessors have 

 received little credence, for subsequent work showed the ex- 

 tracts to be incapable of maintaining life in adrenalectomized 

 animals for any appreciable length of time. 



It would seem quite obvious from our present knowledge 

 that the extracts of earlier workers could have contained only 

 an infinitesimal amount of the hormone, contaminated by a 

 mass of extraneous impurities. It is not surprising, therefore, 

 that with time all these preparations have been well-nigh for- 

 gotten, and it is not necessary to describe or criticize them here. 



The preparation of extracts containing the cortical hormone 

 is rendered difficult for several reasons. In the first place, 

 the amount of hormone present in the glands is relatively small. 

 It might be argued that our available methods remove only a 

 small fraction of the hormone present in the glands, but this 

 assumption is very unlikely, as shall subsequently be shown. 

 The small amount of hormone present in the gland is demon- 

 strated by the large amounts of the glandular material which 

 must be fed to elicit any therapeutic effects. Rapid heating 



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