106 CHEMISTRY OF BACTERIA AND THEIR PRODUCTS 



B. tuberculosis have been made^^ and by using different extractives, 

 from 20 to 40 per cent, of the entire weight of the bacilh has been 

 found sokible in fat solvents. Kreshng found that the substance 

 soluble in chloroform had the following composition: 



Free fatty acid 14.38 per cent. 



Neutral fats and fatty acid esters 77.25 per cent. 



Alcohols obtained from fatty acid esters 39.10 per cent. 



Lecithin 0. 16 per cent. 



Substances soluble in water 0.73 per cent. 



Bulloch and Macleod found that ethereal extracts did not contain 

 the acid-fast substance which they consider to be a wax-like alcohol, 

 soluble in hot, but insoluble in cold absolute alcohol or in ether. 

 The simple fats seem to be formed by oleic, isocetinic, and myristinic 

 acids, and there is some lauric acid in the form of a soap. Kozniewski'® 

 obtained what seemed to be a lauric acid ester of a dodecyl-alcohol, 

 and Biirger^^ attributes the odor of tubercle bacilli to the presence of 

 salicylic aldchj^de. Cholesterol could not be found in tubercle, 

 diphtheria and other bacteria examined by Tamura, although there 

 probably are lipochromes giving the cultures their color. ^^ There is 

 still much disagreement as to whether the acid fastness of tubercle 

 bacilli depends upon waxes, alcohols, fatty acids, or lipoid-protein 

 compounds. ^^ It must be admitted that a high content of fatty ma- 

 terials is regularly present in acid-fast bacilli; thus, in an acid-fast 

 bacillus isolated from leprous lesions, 34.7 per cent, of fats, fatty acids 

 and cholesterol, and 1.7 per cent, of lecithin were found by Gurd and 

 Denis. ^^ Miller"*! attributes the unstained, spore-like areas of tubercle 

 bacilli to oleins, as bacilli grown on olive and sperm oil show a marked 

 decrease in acid fast areas. 



Tamura*^ states that the phosphatids of B. tuberculosis and a 

 saphrophyte exaniinetl by him were not lecithin but a diaminophos- 

 phatid, although diphtheria bacilli seemed to contain lecithin.'*^ He 

 found in both a high molecular alcohol, "mykol," to which he ascribes 

 acid- and Gram-fastness. In a Gram-negative bacillus** he found 

 lecithin, but no cholesterol or mykol. Apparently the fats of tubercle 

 bacilli resemble in character and complexity the "waxes" of j)lants 

 (Burger), ^^ which are called "ccrolii)oids" b}^ Czajiok. By growing 

 tubercle bacilli on suitable media they can l)o made 1o lose their acid- 



"^ For literature see BuUocli and Maclood, .Tour, of lly^fiene, 1004 (4), 1. 



^* An/eifzicr d. Akad. Wiss. KraUau, Matli.-naturwiss Kl., 1912, p. 942. 



" liiocliein. Zeit., 191(> (7S), 155. 



" I'anzer (Zcil. jjliysiol. CIhmii., 1912 (78), 414) could not demonstrate cho- 

 lesterol in tiihorcle Invcilli l)ut did lind a small amount of some substance imitinp; 

 with (lij:;it()nin. 



"•Sec Camus and Pnnniez, Pre.sse Med., 1907 (15), 05; Deyke, Munch, mcd. 

 Woch., 1910 (57), (VM. 



"Jour. J';\i)er. Med., 1911 (11), COG. 



■" .Jour, i'utii. and linel., 191(1 (21), 11. 



^^Zcit. i)iivsi(>l. Clieiii., 1913 (S7), S5. 



"//;i(/., 1911 (S9), 2,S9. 



** Ilnd., 1914 (90), 2S0. 



