Botanic Remedies 293 



("The Natural History of Plants," Kerner and 

 Oliver). 



Plants possess a catalytic agent and it has to do 

 with the production of sugar. Chlorophyll seems 

 to be this agent. Some animals, also, have chloro- 

 phyll and can form starch, the volvox being an 

 instance. But light synthesis does more than this; 

 it also forms methyl derivatives. Many methylated 

 bases are found in plants and some also in animals, 

 such as choline, stachydrine, betaine, and creatine. 

 Carbohydrate metabolism, in plants and animals, 

 has points in common. Chlorophyll, when decom- 

 posed, yields, like hemoglobin, pyrrol derivatives; 

 it is evidently related more or less closely to the 

 hematin of the hemoglobin, hemophyrrol being 

 identical with phytophyrrol. Plant chromoproteins 

 are crystalline conjugated proteins like hemoglobin 

 and are closely related to the chlorophyll. Hemo- 

 globin absorbs light, but it is the light chiefly at the 

 violet end of the spectrum, although there are 

 some bands in the green. By this absorption, the 

 blood pigment is supposed to protect the delicate 

 tissues from the irritant action of the more re- 

 fractive rays. It has recently been suggested that 

 the iron which is always present in the chloroplasts 

 of plant cells plays a very important part in the 

 synthesis of the chlorophyll ("Physiological Chem- 

 istry," Mathews). 



The chlorophyll and chromoproteins of plants 

 may bear a very important part in their remedial 

 actions, especially when injected. We know this 

 to be the case as regards other plant proteins. See 

 "Pollen Extracts" and "Plantex" for a discussion 

 of that subject. And does not this line of thought 



