BACTERIAL POISONS 29 



poisons were later more extensively studied by Brieger, 2 Gautier, 3 

 Griffiths, 4 and others, and it was at first surmised that the formation 

 of such substances in the infected animal might be held responsible 

 for the toxemic manifestations which accompany bacterial disease. 5 

 This, as we shall see, is not the case. Ptomains are probably not 

 formed in traceable quantity in the living tissues and are not in any 

 way identical with the specific bacterial poisons which are respon- 

 sible for the toxemia of infectious diseases. Nevertheless, they have 

 some pathogenic significance, since they are invariably products of 

 the proteolysis caused by bacteria and can give rise to illness when 

 ingested with putrefying foodstuffs. It is important, therefore, that 

 we discuss them briefly and consider their fundamental distinction 

 from the true bacterial poisons. 



Whenever dead organic material, meat, fish, vegetable refuse, 

 etc., is left to itself under suitable conditions of moisture and tem- 

 perature, putrefaction sets in. As a result of bacterial growth the 

 protein is broken up and among the intermediate products of such 

 proteolysis ptomains appear. Chemically 6 7 8 these substances are 

 basic nitrogenous compounds which may or may not contain oxygen. 

 Because of their basic and often highly toxic properties they have 

 been spoken of as "animal alkaloids." Many of them contain only 

 C, H, and !N", and are ammonia substitution products. (See 

 Vaughan and Novy, loc. cit., p. 248.) Thus some of the simpler ones 

 are: 



Methylamin=(CH 3 ) E"H 2 



Dimethylamin= ( CH 3 ) 2 NH 



Trimethylamin=(CH 3 ) 3 N" 

 Among those somewhat more complex are: 



Putrescin=NH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 KE 2 

 and Cadaverin=N"H 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 KE 2 

 Samuely classifies the ptomains according to their nitrogen con- 

 tents as follows: 



1. Those with one nitrogen atom (CgH^N) (CJI 13 !N") 

 (C 10 H 15 N) 



2. Those with two nitrogen atoms such as putrescin (C 4 H 12 ^N" 2 ) 

 and cadaverin (C 5 H 14 N 2 ) and 



2 Brieger. "Die Ptomaine," Berlin, 1885; Virchow's Archiv., Vols. 112 

 and 115 ; Berl klin. Woch., 1887, 1888. 



3 Gautier. Cited after Pick, Bull, de I'acad. de med., 1886. 



4 Griffiths. Compt. Rend, de I'acad. des sc., Vol. 113. 



5 For a historical outline of our knowledge of these poisons, as well as 

 for a thorough treatment of their nature, see Vaughan and Novy, "Cellular 

 Toxins." 



6 For a discussion of the chemistry of the ptomains see Vaughan and 

 Novy, "Cellular Toxins," Lea Bros., Philadelphia, 1902. 



7 Also Samuely in Oppenheimer's "Handbuch der Biochemie," Vol. I, 

 pp. 794 et seq. 



8 See also Wells, "Chemical Pathology," Saunders, Phila., 1907. 



