164 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



Certain investigators categorically deny that streptococci 

 produce any specific poison at all. 



ARONSON l not only found the sterilised filtrates from cultures 

 of streptococci to be devoid of toxic power, but was also unable 

 to detect any poison in the sediment of cells of the cocci that 

 had been killed by chloroform ; local infiltrations were the only 

 results of his inoculations. The existence of a streptococci 

 poison is also denied by DE GIAXA and PANE. 2 



At the same time, so many investigators have found poisons, 

 at all events, in streptococci cultivations, that further proof is 

 required before this radical conclusion can be accepted. 



One of the first poisons to be demonstrated in Jittered cultures 

 was found by MAN FRED I and TRAVERSA 3 in cultivation of 

 erysipelas streptococci, grown preferably at 28 to 30 C. They 

 described it as a readily oxidisable poison, which produced 

 convulsions and paralysis, and soon became inactive on ex- 

 posure to the air. In like manner poisonous metabolic products 

 of streptococci were found in filtered cultures by ROGER, 4 



MARMOREK, 5 HOMEN, 6 FRIEDRICH, 7 LAITINEN, 8 ClAUDE, 9 PARAS- 



CANDALO, 10 and SCHENK." 



As regards the nature of the poison little or nothing is known. 

 ROGER precipitated his poison from the cultivation by the 

 addition of ten times the volume of alcohol, redissolved the 

 precipitate in a solution of common salt, and endeavoured to 



1 Aronson, "Ueber Antistreptokokkenserum," BerL klin. Woch., 1896, 

 717. 



2 de Giaxa and Pane, "Contribute alia cognizione sulla immunis. centre 

 la infez. da streptococco, " Riform. Med., xii. [4], 5; Baumgartens Jb., 

 1896, 23. 



3 Manfred! and Traversa, " SulPazione del prodotti di cultura dello 

 streptococco," Giorn. Inter, delle Scienze Mediche, 1888. 



4 Roger, "Action des produits solubles streptocoque d'erysipe'le," Soc. 

 BioL, xliii., 538, 1891. 



5 Marmorek, "Le streptocoque et le se'rum antistreptococcique," Ann. 

 Past., ix., 593, 1895. 



6 Home'n, De 1'action du streptocoque et de ses toxines sur les nerfs," 

 Sem. Med., 1896, 211 (Soc. BioL, xxiii., [5], 1896). 



7 Friedrich, "Beobacht. iib. d. Wirkung von subkutan einverleibten 

 Streptokokken-Toxinen, &c.," BerL klin. Woch., 1895, 1065. 



8 Laitinen, "Das Streptokokkentoxin u. seine Wirkung auf das Nerven- 

 system," C. f. allg. PathoL, 1896, 358. 



9 Claude "Myelite ai'gue par toxines streptocoq," Soc. BioL, xlviii., 122, 

 1896. 



10 Parascandalo, "E. neue Versuchsreihe iib. de Serotherapie bei Infek- 

 tionen mit pyogenen Mikroorg," Wiener klin. Woch., 1897, 937. 



"Schenk, " Ueb. Streptok. -Serum und Streptok.-Toxine," Wien. klin. 

 Woch., 1897, 937. 



