HAY FEVER TOXINE. 207 



It was more fully investigated by LusT, 1 who found that it could be pre- 

 cipitated by alcohol, that it was " salted out" by ammonium sulphate (60 

 per cent, solution), and was not attacked by pepsin-hydrochloric acid. 



ROBINE. 



Robine, a fourth vegetable toxine, resembling ricine, was 

 discovered by POWER and CAMBiER 2 in 1890, and described by 

 them as a phytoalbumose. Its power of agglutinating the blood 

 was also discovered by ROBERT. It is found in the bark of the 

 so-called acacia, Robinia pseudacacia. 



Its poisonous character had already been recognised as the 

 cause of accidents to men and animals, several instances of which 

 are cited by LAU (loc. cit.). 



It acts upon the blood in a similar way to ricine, though its 

 action is considerably weaker, and is absolutely lacking in the 

 case of the blood of cats, dogs, and man. 



In like manner its toxic power is disproportionately weaker 

 than that of ricine and abrine. A dose of as much as 1 grms. 

 per kilo, of body weight of robine freed from impurities by 

 precipitation with potassium ferrocyanide and purified by re- 

 precipitation with acetic acid (MERCK'S commercial preparation) 

 was required to kill a rabbit in four days. Post-mortem dissec- 

 tion showed nephritis, but otherwise nothing characteristic. 



EHRLICH succeeded in producing immunity against robine, and 

 discovered the fact that highly-immunised animals were also 

 proof against ricine. Hence he is inclined to believe that robine 

 is a toxoid of ricine. JACOBY has shown, as we have seen, that 

 such ricine toxoids probably exist. 



A closer investigation of robine is urgently needed, since this 

 question is of the greatest theoretical importance. 



HAY FEVER TOXINE. 



Poisonous substances of a proteid nature have recently been 

 regarded as the primary cause of hay fever and "autumnal cold." 

 Toxines are present, according to DUNBAR and WEICHART, S both 



1 Lust, " t)b. einen Antikorper gegen Crotin im normalen Organismus," 

 Hofmeisters Beitr., vi., 132, 1904. 



2 Power and Cambier, Pharmac. Journ., 1890, 711; Pharm. Rdsch., 

 Feb. 1890, p. 30. 



3 Dunbar, "Zur Frage betreffend die Aetiologie u. specif. Therapie des 

 Heufiebers," Berl. klin. Woch., 1903, 24-26; id., "Z. Aetiol. des Herbst- 

 katarrhes," ibid., 1903, 28. 



