PTOMAINES AND TOXALBUMINS. 147 



forms a crystalline mass. Is produced in cultures of the cholera 

 spirillum and of the spirillum of Finkler and Prior which have been 

 kept for a month or more at 37 C. 



Putrescin, C 4 H ]2 N 2 . A base resembling cadaverin and com- 

 monly associated with it. Obtained by Brieger from various sources, 

 most abundantly from substances containing gelatin and in the 

 more advanced stages of putrefaction. It is obtained in the form of 

 a hydrate, which is a transparent liquid having a boiling point of 

 about 135. With acids it forms crystalline salts. 



Saprin, C 5 A 16 N 2 . Resembles cadaverin and is commonly as- 

 sociated with it in putrefying material. Isolated by Brieger. 



Methylamine, CH 3 .NH 2 . Obtained by Brieger from putrefying 

 fish and from old cultures of the cholera spirillum. 



Dimetliijlamine, (CH t ),.NH. Obtained by Brieger from putre- 

 fying gelatin and by Bocklisch from decomposing fish. 



Trimethylamine, (CH 3 ) 3 N. Obtained from various sources, and 

 by Brieger from cultures of the cholera spirillum and of the strepto- 

 coccus of pus. 



TOXIC PTOMAINES. 



Neurin, C 5 H 13 NO. First obtained by Liebreich in 1865 as a 

 decomposition product of protagon from the brain. Obtained by 

 Brieger from putrefying muscular tissue. When crystallized from 

 an aqueous solution it forms five- or six-sided plates ; from an alco- 

 holic solution it crystallizes in the form of needles (Liebreich). This 

 base is toxic in small doses. In frogs the injection of a few milli- 

 grammes produces paralysis of the extremities. Respiration is first 

 arrested and the heart stops in diastole. Atropine appears to be a 

 physiological antidote to the toxic effects of neurin. In rabbits it 

 produces profuse salivation. The pupil is contracted by the direct 

 application of a concentrated solution. 



Cholin, C 5 H 15 NX) 2 . First obtained from hog's bile by Strecker 

 in 1862. Has been obtained by Brieger from various sources, in- 

 cluding cultures of the cholera spirillum. It is also found widely 

 distributed in the vegetable kingdom. May be prepared from the 

 yolk of eggs by the method of Diakonow. Cholin is obtained in the 

 form of a syrupy, alkaline liquid which combines with acids to form 

 deliquescent salts. At first this base was not supposed to have toxic 

 properties, but more recent researches have shown that in compara- 

 tively large doses it produces symptoms resembling those caused by 

 minute doses of neurin. 



Muscarin, C 5 H ]5 NO 3 . This toxic principle of poisonous mush- 

 rooms has also been obtained by Brieger from putrefying fish. It may 

 be produced artificially by the oxidation of cholin. In small doses 

 it kills rabbits and frogs. In the rabbit it produces lacrymation and 



