316 Mr. E. Schunck. 



cyanin is found among the products of decomposition, the chief 

 product nearly resembling phyllotaonin, with which it is indeed prob- 

 ably identical. The solution, on being evaporated nearly to dryness, 

 gives a dark coloured deposit, which being filtered off may be dis- 

 solved in boiling glacial acetic acid. The solution left to stand yields 

 a semi- crystal line deposit, which, filtered off, washed with cold alcohol, 

 and dried, appears purple by reflected light; it dissolves, though not 

 readily, in ether, giving a purplish solution which shows the same 

 absorption bands as phyllotaonin acetate or ethylphyllotaonin. On 

 treatment with alcoholic potash it dissolves, giving a bright green 

 solution which on boiling turns brown, and on now adding acetic acid 

 and shaking up with ether a solution is obtained which has the 

 colour and shows the same bands as a solution of phyllocyanin. 



These reactions would seem to indicate the presence of phyllotaonin 

 among the products of decomposition of alkachlorophyll ; the simul- 

 taneous presence of other products, especially fatty acid, renders its 

 purification difficult. The method of preparing alkachlorophyll as 

 above described does not of course preclude the possibility of its con- 

 taining an admixture of fatty acid ; still I cannot help thinking that 

 a portion at least of the fatty acid found is actually formed during 

 the process of decomposition with acids. 



In order to see whether, in addition to the one just described, 

 some other product or products possibly soluble in water were formed 

 by the action of acids on alkachlorophyll, a quantity of the substance 

 was treated with boiling dilute sulphuric acid. The acid liquid 

 filtered from the undissolved matter was coloured blue. On being 

 neutralised with barium carbonate the blue colour disappeared, and 

 the liquid having been filtered and evaporated left a slightly coloured 

 residue which was treated with absolute alcohol. This dissolved a 

 portion, and left after filtration and evaporation a pale yellow 

 glutinous residue. This residue was soluble in water, but insoluble 

 in ether. The watery solution had an alkaline reaction ; it did not 

 react with Fehling's solution. The alcoholic solution gave with 

 platinum chloride a pale yellow crystalline deposit. The quantity of 

 the substance obtained in this experiment was too. small to allow of 

 its identification. Should it turn out to be an organic base, as its re- 

 actions would seem to indicate, the fact would tend to confirm the 

 view taken by Hoppe-Seyler, who obtained cholin as a product of de- 

 composition of his chlorophyllan, and hence concluded that chloro- 

 phyll itself might have a constitution similar to that of lecithin. 



