432 PHENACETURIC ACID. [BOOK II. 



Behaviour in a . Phenyl-propionic acid. Phenyl-propionic acid 

 the organism. a pp ears i n the first instance to be oxidised in the 

 animal economy, and the benzoic acid, which is the result of this 

 process, conjugating itself with glycerin, hippuric acid results, which 

 is excreted in the urine. E. and H. Salkowski believe that the 

 oxidation of the phenyl-propionic acid which is formed in the 

 alimentary canal of carnivora as a product of the putrefactive de- 

 composition of the proteids, is the source of the hippuric acid which 

 they excrete in the urine 1 . 



b. Phenyl-acetic acid. When phenyl-acetic acid is introduced 

 into the alimentary canal of dogs, it is absorbed and combines in 

 the economy with glycocine, giving rise to a conjugate acid to which 

 E. and H. Salkowski have assigned the name of phenaceturic acid. 



Phenaceturic acid C 10 H U NO 3 (C 6 H 6 . CH 2 . CO - NH . CH 2 . COOH). 



This acid, besides being produced when phenylacetic acid is artificially 

 introduced into the organism of dogs, is a normal constituent of the urine 

 of the horse and perhaps of that of man. 



" It is sparingly soluble in water, though more soluble than hippuric 

 acid ; it is easily soluble in alcohol and acetic ether, but is sparingly soluble 

 in ether. 



" Its melting-point is 143 C. When boiled with hydrochloric acid, it is 

 resolved into glycocine and phenyl-acetic acid 3 ." 



PHENOLS RESULTING FROM THE PUTREFACTIVE DECOMPOSITION 



OF TYROSINE. 



Parakresol. Phenol. 



C 6 H 5 OH 



C 7 H 8 C 6 H 6 0. 



Repeating the processes employed by Nencki in the preparation 

 of indol from decomposing proteids, Baumann 4 arrived at the con- 

 clusion that appreciable quantities of a phenol are always produced 

 during pancreatic putrefaction. 



Weyl 5 , at the suggestion and with the aid of Baumann, conducted 

 experiments which led to the same result, but shewed that gelatin 



1 E. and H. Salkowski, ' Ueber das Verhalten der aus dem Eiweiss durch Faulniss 

 entstehenden aromatischen Sauren im Thierkorper,' Zeitsch. f. pliys. Chemie, Vol. vn. 

 (188283), p. 171. 



2 E. and H. Salkowski, op. cit. Zeitsch. f. pliys. Chem. Vol. vn. (1882 83), p. 162. 



3 Hoppe-Seyler, Handbuch, &c. 6te Auf. Berlin, 1893, p. 182. 



4 Baumann, 'Zur Kenntniss der aromatischen Substanzen des Thierkorpers,' 

 Zeitsch. f. phys. Chemie, Vol. i. (18778), pp. 6069. 



5 Dr Th. Weyl, 'Faulniss von Fibrin, Amyloid und Leim,' Zeitsch. f. phys. Chem., 

 Vol. i. (187778), p. 339. 



