462 journal of Agricultural Research voi.xxn.TJo.ft 



and evaporated. A fatty substance free from the characteristic odor 

 of A. lumbricoides was left after evaporating the ether. This substance 

 had no hemolytic power. Inasmuch as sodium bicarbonate saponified 

 the free fatty acids in the ether, it is evident that the hemolytic effect 

 of the ether extract free from the water-soluble fraction is due to fatty 

 acids. Flury {191 2) , in fact, came to the conclusion that the hemolytic 

 power of ascarids is to be ascribed to free fatty acids of which the un- 

 saturated fatty acids are of prime importance. Flury stated further- 

 more that oleic acid is probably the most active principle of Ascaris 

 hemolysin because of the known hemolytic powers of this substance. 

 The watery layer (fraction 2) was opalescent and contained a thick 

 suspension of a grayish substance which was found to be slightly hemo- 

 lytic to sheep cells. 



The ether extract contains therefore two fractions, (i) a water-insoluble 

 fraction which consists of neutral fats and fatty acids, and (2) a water- 

 soluble fraction, both of which are hemolytic. The composition of the 

 water-soluble substance was not definitely determined. This substance 

 was tested and found to be soluble in 95 per cent alcohol and in hot and 

 cold water. By acidifying a watery solution of the substance and shaking 

 it with an equal volume of ether it was made to go into solution and was 

 recovered in the ether layer. Another portion of the water-soluble sub- 

 stance was salted out from water by adding a few drops of a strong solu- 

 tion of sodium chlorid. It rose to the surface, where it formed a thick 

 layer which was insoluble in salt solution. Bondouy {1908, 1910), who 

 experimented with a similar chemical fraction of a species of Strongylus, 

 identified it as consisting of soluble soaps, substances that are known to 

 have hemolytic power. 



To recapitulate, an ether extract of Ascaris lumbricoides was divided 

 into the following fractions : ( i ) An ether-soluble and water-insoluble frac- 

 tion, and (2) a water-soluble fraction. Both fractions were hemolytic, 

 the latter, however, only to a moderate degree. The fatty acid in the 

 first fraction (fraction i) was saponified. The fatty acid-free fraction 

 which was extracted in ether was not hemolytic. This fraction consists 

 largely of neutral fats. The hemolytic potency of the ether extract of 

 A. lumbricoides is therefore due largely to free fatty acid. That the 

 water-soluble part of the ether fraction (fraction 2) is a mixture of soaps 

 is probable. 



A portion of the remaining Ascaris lumbricoides powder (free from 

 ether-soluble fraction) was extracted in distilled water for 48 hours in an 

 incubator. The mixture was then filtered. The filtrate had a brownish 

 color and a sweetish odor. Tests for proteins were positive. The residue 

 was evaporated at 40° C. A portion of the residue was taken up in salt 

 solution, to which it gave a yellowish coloration. Tested for its hemo- 

 lytic power on sheep blood corpuscles, it produced rapid hemolysis. The 

 remaining portion of the residue was extracted in 95 per cent alcohol for 



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