478 CHOLIC ACID. 



crystals of glycocholic acid, which are purified by re- 

 crystallizing from boiling water. The taurocholic acid 

 remains in solution. The amorphous mass at first de- 

 posited also usually becomes crystalline after a long 

 time. Or fresh ox-bile, decolorized with animal char- 

 coal, is precipitated with a solution of sugar of lead, 

 the precipitate exhausted with boiling 85 per cent, 

 alcohol, and this solution treated with sulphuretted 

 hydrogen, while still hot. From the filtrate from 

 lead sulphide, glycocholic acid is deposited in crystals, 

 when water is added until turbidness remains. 



Glycoholic acid forms very fine, white needles, which 

 pressed together in a mass represent a leaf of a silky 

 lustre. It has a sweetish-bitter taste; is but slightly 

 soluble in water, easily soluble in alcohol. On evapo- 

 rating its alcoholic solution, it remains behind as a 

 resinous mass. Fusible, but not volatile. Its alkaline 

 salts are easily soluble, and have a very sweet taste. 

 Heated with sulphuric acid, and a solution of sugar, 

 it gives a violet color. 



"When boiled with alkalies, glycocholic acid, takes 

 up one molecule of water, and is converted into glyco- 

 col (p. 84), and 



Cholie acid, C 24 IF0 5 . This is obtained most 

 readily by boiling crystallized bile for several days 

 with baryta- water or potassa. Colorless, shiny octahe- 

 drons, almost insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and 

 ether. A solution of its alkali salts has a strong, bit- 

 ter taste at first, afterward sweetish. It is precipi- 

 tated from these solutions by acids, as a soft amor- 

 phous mass, which however soon becomes crystalline, 

 especially on the addition of ether. With sulphuric 

 acid and a solution of sugar, it shows the same reac- 

 tion as glycocholic acid. 



When boiled with acids, glycocholic acid is also re- 

 solved into glycocol and cholic acid, but in this case 

 the latter immediately undergoes a further change, 

 giving up water, and being converted into dyslisin, 

 C 24 II 36 3 , a grayish- white, amorphous body, not acid, 



