THE PTOMAINES AND SOLUBLE FERMENTS 315 



by Gautier and Etard 1 in certain extracts of 

 mackerel which had undergone bacterial putrefac- 

 tion. It has the odour of syringa, and is decom- 

 posed at 100 C. Scombrine forms a crystallisable 

 platinochloride which is soluble in water. 



Morrhuine (C 19 H 27 N 3 ). This ptomaine was iso- 

 lated by Gautier and Mourgues from cod-liver oil. 

 It is a yellowish liquid with the odour of syringa, 

 and is very alkaline and caustic. 



Aselline (C^HggNJ. This base was also isolated 

 by the same authorities from cod-liver oil. It is an 

 inodorous solid, which is soluble in ether and 

 alcohol, but insoluble in water. In large doses it is 

 poisonous. 



(B.) The Oxygenous Ptomaines. 



Propylglycocyamine (C 6 H 13 N 3 2 .) This ptomaine 

 was extracted by the author 2 from the urine in a 

 case of parotitis or mumps, where the kidneys were 

 involved. It crystallises in white prismatic needles, 

 which are soluble in water, ether, and chloroform. 

 This base has a neutral reaction, a slightly bitter 

 taste, and forms a yellow crystalline platinochloride, 

 a pale yellow aurochloride, and a white crystalline 

 hydrochloride. When boiled with oxidising agents 

 it yields creatine (methylglycocyamine) and finally 

 methylguanidine and oxalic acid. This ptomaine 



1 See Gautier's Chimie Biologique (1892), p. 268. 



2 Comptes Rendu*, tome cxiii. p. 656 ; Chemical News, vol. 

 Ixi. p. 87 ; and Bulletin de la Societe Chimique de Paris, 3 e serie, 

 tome iv. p. 333. 



