192 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 
be obtained by these salts against venom-lecithin hemolysis. Peculiarly 
enough, barium chloride exceeds the other in its antagonistic action against 
this form of hemolysis. 
Von Dungern and Coca incidentally refer to the regeneration of the com- 
plement once inactivated by barium chloride by means of adding sodium 
sulphate. This confirms the observations of Noguchi, who studied the same 
phenomenon with numerous complements and chemicals. As to the cause 
of certain inhibitory influence exerted by barium chloride against cobra venom 
in the presence of lecithin, these investigators ascribe it to the interference of 
this salt on the formation of lecithid, because the prepared lecithid is as 
hemolytic in the barium solution as in the sodium-chloride solution. On the 
other hand, the prepared lecithid shows less strength in sugar solution 
(9.35 per cent) than in the saline solution (0.8 per cent). Formation of cobra 
lecithid seems to be much easier in the sugar solution than in the saline 
solution, because certain kinds of blood are easily hemolyzed in the former, 
but not at all in the latter medium (Goebel). This phenomenon is interesting, 
as it presents a reverse relation to the hemolysis caused by the serum ambo- 
ceptor and complement. 
Von Dungern and Coca studied the nature of cobra lecithid in regard to 
its bearing on immunity. They prepared lecithids in the usual way, originally 
given by Kyes. The results of their experiments do not favor the toxin-like 
view of lecithid. They immunized rabbit with lecithid and obtained anti- 
hemolytic serum. But the antihemolytic power of the immune serum does 
not manifest itself until it has been heated to 64° C., because the normal 
rabbit serum is found to be almost as strongly antilecithidal as the immune 
serum in the fresh state. This peculiar phenomenon was first observed and 
described by Kyes in his studies of immunization against lecithid. Kyes’s 
interpretation was that the normal rabbit serum contains a certain amount 
of anti-body against lecithid, and its destruction by means of previous heating 
of the serum to 64° C. is necessary to make the specific antiheemolytic prop- 
erty of the immune serum appear in a more striking degree. 
Von Dungern and Coca gave a very different explanation for this phenom- 
enon on the grounds of their own experiments. They assume that lecithid 
contains a certain quantity of lecithin-splitting venom-ferment or heemo- 
lysin and the immunization of animals with such mixture causes appearance 
of anti-body for this minute quantity of venom lysin in its blood serum. 
The reason why the heated normal serum becomes inactive and the heated 
immune serum still more or less active against lecithid is that the former 
furnishes enough liberated lecithin to be acted upon by the native venom 
contained in the lecithid, hence more hemolysis than with the fresh normal 
serum. On the other hand, the immune serum contains, even after heating 
(64° C.), a specific anti-body to neutralize the native venom of the leci- 
thid; hence the presence of free lecithin in the heated immune serum is 
1 Noguchi. Ueber die chemische Inaktivierung und Regeneration der Komplemente. Biochem. 
Zeitschr., 1907, VI, 327. 
