CHAPTER VIII 



Spermine, Choline, Ergothioneine , and 

 certain other Bases in Semen 



Spermine. Occurrence of crystalline spermine in human semen; its 

 chemical nature and properties. Derivatives of spermine and their use 

 in forensic medicine. Synthesis of sperrnine. Spermidine. Oxidation of 

 spermine and spermidine by diamine oxidase. State of spermine in semen. 



Choline. The Florence reaction in semen. Enzymic liberation of choline 

 from precursors in semen. Phosphorylcholine and glycerylphosphoryl- 

 choHne. Physiological function of free and bound choline. Choline 

 esterase. 



Ergothioneine. Isolation of ergothioneine from the boar seminal vesicle 

 secretion. The function of seminal ergothioneine and its behaviour towards 

 sulphydryl-binding substances. Biogenesis of ergothioneine. 



Creatine and creatinine. Occurrence in mammalian semen, and in the 

 sperm and gonads of invertebrates. Phosphocreatine and phosphoarginine. 



Adrenaline and noradrenaline . Occurrence in semen and accessory organs. 

 Enzymic oxidation. Pharmacodynamic properties. 



Among the chemical characteristics which distinguish semen from 

 other tissues and body fluids is the occurrence of certain nitrogenous 

 bases, largely betaines, which are rarely found elsewhere in the 

 animal body. Of these, spermine is the oldest-known, and ergo- 

 thioneine the most recently discovered. 



SPERMINE 



Occurrence of crystalline spermine; its chemical nature and properties 

 When human semen 'had stood a little while, some three-sided 

 bodies were seen in it, terminating at either end in a point; some 

 were of the length of the smallest grain of sand, and some were a 

 little bigger, as in Fig. A. They were further as bright and clear as if 

 they had been crystals.' Thus, in a letter of November 1677, addressed 

 to the Royal Society, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek reported the dis- 

 covery of the crystalline substance in semen which later became 



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