346 BACTERIAL POISONS. 



Leucoma'ines of the Saliva. 



According to the statement of GAUTIER (1881), normal 

 human saliva contains divers toxic substances in small 

 quantities which differ very much in their action according 

 to the time of their secretion, and probably according to 

 the individual gland in which they are secreted. The 

 aqueous extract of saliva at 100 is poisonous or narcotic 

 in its action toward birds. To show the presence of basic 

 substances, the aqueous extract was slightly acidulated with 

 dilute hydrochloric acid, then precipitated by MAYER'S 

 reagent ; the precipitate was washed, then decomposed by 

 hydrogen sulphide, and the solution filtered. The filtrate 

 on evaporation gave a residue consisting of microscopic 

 slender needles of a soluble hydrochloridc. This salt, 

 purified by extraction with absolute alcohol, forms soluble 

 crystalline, but easily decomposable double salts with 

 platinum chloride and with gold chloride. The solution 

 of the hydrochloride produces an immediate precipitate of 

 Prussian blue in a mixture of potassium ferricyanide and 

 ferric chloride, and when injected into birds produces a 

 condition of stupor. 



Leucoma'ines from other Tissues of the Body. 



SELMI'S work upon the formation of ptomaines during 

 the process of putrefaction led many investigators to doubt 

 the production of these bases by the decomposition of the 

 proteid or other complex molecules. To substantiate this, 

 a number of chemists, especially Italian, endeavored to 

 show that SELMI'S bases, to a large extent at least, exist 

 preformed in the various tissues. PATERNO and SPICA 

 (1882) succeeded in extracting from fresh blood as well as 

 from fresh albumin of eggs substances identical, or at least 

 similar, to those designated under the name of ptoma'iiics. 

 Their observations, however, were confined to the detection 

 of alkaloidal reactions in the various extracts obtained by 

 DRAGENDORFF'S method, and at no time were they in 

 possession of a definite chemical individual. MARINO- 



