Physiology — ''On the Xature of the Constituent of Inh'stine- 

 Extr'acts, which exerts a Stinudating Injiuence upon the Gastro- 

 intestinal Movements." Bj- Dr. J. W, le Heux. (Communicated 

 bj Prof. C. A. Pekelharing.) 



(Communicated in the meeting of September 29, 1917). 



In 1912 an article was issued from the Pharmacological Institute 

 of the Utrecht University entitled: "Zur Kenntniss der Entstehung 

 der Darmbewegung" of Dr. Walther Weilamd ^). 



In this article Weiland reports his striking experience that when 

 different parts of the gastro-intestinal tract (stomach, small intestine, 

 large intestine) of various animals (rabbit, cat, and dog), after being 

 duly cleaned, are put in water of 38°, the fluid possesses after some 

 time tiie quality to largely modify the movement of the surviving 

 small intestine of these animals. 



The effect of these aqueous extracts on the surviving small in- 

 testine, which is not specific for any type, evinces itself in a broad- 

 ening of the contractions or in an increment of tonus, or in both, 

 an effect, therefore, resembling that of pilocarpin also in that it 

 can be counteracted by a small dose of atropin. On further inquiry 

 Weiland found that the active constituent of these extracts is not 

 of a fermenting nature, but that after boiling and filtering the solu- 

 tion and evaporating it down to small bulk, the remaining dark- 

 coloured residue was as active as the primary extract. Another 

 purification was effected by treating with absolute alcohol the extract 

 that had been evaporated to dryness on the waterbath and filtering 

 it, by again evaporating the filtrate and subsequently extracting the 

 residue with ether; the ether was then removed from the limpid 

 filtered ether solution and the rest was dissolved in water. Accord- 

 ing to Weiland a solution is obtained in this way that contains 

 nearly the original quantity of the active constituents. To litmus the 

 reaction of this solution is distinctly alkaline; it contains, however, 

 only traces of nitrogen. The reaction after Millon is negative, 

 biuret-reaction faintly positive. Phosphotungstic-acid and phospo- 

 molybdic acid yield a large white precipitate, platinic-chloride a slight 

 one. No precipitate resulted from potassium-mercury-iodide, potassium- 



i) Arch. f. d. ges. Physiologie Bd. 147 S. 171 1912 



