PRODUCTS OF PANCREATIC DIGESTION. 



Indol and Skatol. In a prolonged pancreatic digestion. 

 especially in the absence of the protecting thymol or chloro- 

 form, these bodies are always formed. Their appearance has 

 nothing to do, however, with the enzymic fermentation which 

 gives rise to the other products. They are always products of 

 bacterial decomposition and seem to be produced by the bac- 

 teria from some of the enzymic products. Indol has the 



composition, 



/CH 

 CH<< 



X NH 



Skatol is the methyl derivative, 



Pure indol is a crystalline substance melting at 52. Skatol 

 melts at 95. Indol is oxidized in the body to indoxyl, which 

 appears in part in the urine as indican or potassium indoxyl 

 sulphate, 



CsHeNv 



>S04. 



K/ 



Skatol suffers a similar change. More will be said about these 

 reactions later. Although these bodies are not true pancreatic 

 products, it may be well to illustrate their production in this 

 place, since they frequently appear in pancreatic digestions. 

 An experiment will show this. 



Ex. Chop fine 500 grams of meat and 25 grams of pancreas and allow 

 the mixture to stand exposed a day. Then mix with 2 liters of water 

 and 50 cc. of a saturated solution of sodium carbonate, place in a flask 

 and keep at a temperature of 40 through about 10 days. Then transfer 

 the whole mass to a large tin or copper can and distil off most of the 

 liquid. For a complete separation 500 cc. of water should be added at 

 this stage and this distilled also. The whole of the distillate is now acidi- 

 fied with hydrochloric acid and divided into portions of 300 cc. each, which 

 are shaken out thoroughly in a separatory funnel with ether. For the first 

 300 cc. of acid liquid about 200 cc. of ether should be used. The extracted 

 aqueous layer is drawn off and a new portion of 300 cc. added to the same 



