CREATINE. 135 



glistening needles ; it does not dissolve in less than 9410 parts 

 of alcohol^ and not at all in ether ; it does not act on vegetable 

 colours, and forms no definite salts with acids. It dissolves in 

 baryta-water without undergoing any change, but when boiled with 

 it, it becomes decomposed into ammonia and carbonic acid or into 

 urea and sarcosine. It also dissolves unchanged in dilute acids ; 

 but when heated with strong acids, it becomes converted into 

 creatinine, giving off 2 atoms of water. 



Composition. This body has recently been most carefully 

 examined by Liebig ;* from whose analyses the above formula is 

 derived, and from which we find creatine to consist of : 



Carbon 8 atoms .... 36'64 



Hydrogen 9 .... 6'87 



Nitrogen 3 .... 32'06 



Oxygen 4 .... 24'43 



100-00 



The 2 equivalents of water correspond to 12'08 of crystal- 

 lised creatine. The atomic weight of the anhydrous substance is 

 1637*5. Notwithstanding the various modes of decomposing 

 creatine, no probable hypothesis can be adduced regarding its theo- 

 retical constitution. As it is almost wholly deficient in basic pro- 

 perties, it can hardly be regarded, according to Berzelius's view, 

 as a conjugated ammonia; for it would in that case stand as 

 H 3 N.C 8 H 6 N 2 O 4 , by which the deficient basic character is made 

 more conspicuous ; while Liebig's view of regarding crystallised 

 creatine as a combination of ammonia and 2 equivalents of gly- 

 cine, (glycocoll,) (C 8 H n N 3 O 6 =H 3 N + C 8 H 8 N 2 O 6 ,) is opposed 

 both by the constitution of anhydrous creatine and by the 

 deficiency in basicity. The decomposition of creatine by baryta- 

 water into urea and sarcosine might indeed indicate that these 

 bodies are its proximate constituents (for C 2 H 4 N 2 O 2 + C 6 H 7 NO 4 =: 

 C 8 H n N 3 O 6 ), but this is not probable; for although we know that 

 water is expelled on the union of two organic substances, we can 

 no more assume that urea and sarcosine are present in the dry 

 substance, than we could maintain that oxalic acid and ammonia 

 are contained in oxamide, or valerianic acid and ammonia in vale- 

 ronitrile. 



Preparation. Creatine is obtained, according to Liebig, from 

 finely chopped flesh, that has been well kneaded with water 

 and the fluid removed by pressure. The coagulable matters are 



* Ann. d. Ch. 11. Pharm. Bd. 62, S. 257-290. 



