CHEMICAL BASIS OF THE ANIMAL BODY. 207 



uj'1't-ar t<> owe their origin to putrefactive processes occurriiiL 1 in 



the intestine. 1 They are both somewhat viscid fluids uhirh 



illise at low temperatures, and yield readily crystallisable 



compounds with acids and salts of gold, platinum, and mercury. 



Their henzoyl compounds are insoluble in water and hemv atlord 



a convenient means for their separation. Cholin and the highly 



toxic neurin, whn-h really belong to this class, have already been 



: il>ed. (See above pp. 135, 136.) 



This name has been applied by Gautier 2 to those 

 basic (alkali tidal) sul>stances which occur in linn;/ tissues and are 

 to be regarded as products of their normal metabolism and thus 

 distinct from ptomaines. They are obtained by extracting finely 

 minced ox-flesh with an extremely dilute aqueous solution of 

 oxalic acid. According to Gautier this extract may contain the 

 following six liases: Xanthokreatiniii, r 5 Hi N 4 0; Chrysokreatinin, 

 C S H 8 N 4 O, Amphikivatinin, C 8 H 19 N 7 O 4 , Pseudoxanthin, C 4 H 5 NO 

 and two, as yet unnamed, with the composition CnH 24 N,,,<>. and 

 C la H, 5 NnO 8 respectively. They probably stand in close relation- 

 ship to ]>araxanthin, C 7 H 8 X 4 O 2 , heteroxanthin, CH 6 N 4 O 2 , and 

 adenin C;H-N T 6 (see above, p. 181), and it is interesting to note 

 that comparing the formulie of the leukomaines with each other 

 and with those of kreatinin C 4 H 7 N 8 and kreatin C 4 H 9 N 8 Oj they 



"ii ml to differ in several cases by the group CNH. 

 The leukiiniaines are regarded by Gautier as feebly toxic alka- 

 loidal products of metabolism from which the organism is 

 normally freed either by their excretion, since they are found in 

 urine (see above), or by destructive oxidation, and it has further 

 -uggested that their abnormal retention in the economy may 

 the i a use of certain obscure pathological conditions. 3 



THE BILE-ACIDS. 



1. Cholalic (or cholic) acid. C^H^O,. 



To avoid confn>i..n the t.-nu ln.lic' should be in all cases used as 

 synonym..^ \\ith rliolalir. ' I >-mar<-a\ . who first described choUlk 

 a.-'nl a- a pr-nlnet i-f tin- .!... iii|i..-.it i..n ..f bile-acids, gave it tin- naim- 

 of chnlic arid. 4 Tin- iiaiin- 'i-lu'lalir' is |..-rlia| tin- ln-tt.T. >ino- it 

 in. IK -at i- tin- in. -tli.. 1 1'V \\lii<-li tin- l.ilr-a-il* IM d000mpOWd 

 it- j.p-parati vi/. l.y t r.-atnnMit with alkalis. The name 



1 ri!niti-/kv ii Haamann, lot. tit. Sea also Stadthagen u Rrieger, Virchow'g 

 Artl, 190. 



r In alca< --lion tmrtSrifniK 



t\n aniinmir. Paris, 1886. Bull, de I'ura d. dt ' The name 



is .Ifriv.-.l fpun A*vua. ix-ranionally used to denote whit* of egg, and hence to 

 iinlir:itf their i>rii;iii fnun iin>t.-. 



H..u.-har.l. r,., n ,.t. I;. (1886), pp. 669, 727. I 



4 Li. Kite's .Un ltd xxvii (1838), 8 270. 



