CHEMICAL BASIS OF Till-; ANIMAL BODY. 255 



_. Uroerythrin. 



This is a pigment of which but little is known. It i- r. _ 

 as ih.- colouring-substance of certain bright-mi (pink) ui 

 deposits and as possibly occurring in the highly coloured urine's 

 of rheumatism, \-c. It appears to be an amorphoiu reddish sub- 

 stance, with an acid reaction, slowly soluble in either water, 

 alcohol, or ether. 1 Treated with caustic alkalis it turns green', 

 more particularly when in the solid form. In alcoholic solution 

 obtained by boiling pink unites with alcohol it shows two ill- 

 d;-tined absorption bands between D and /'.- 



3. Urohaematoporphyrin. 



This pigment was first described by Mac Munn (under tin- iiame 

 of orohaematin) as occasionally occurring in certain pathol. 

 urines as of acute rheumatism, Addison's disease, &c. and to it he 

 L r ave the present name from certain resemblances of its spectra to 

 those of ha matoporphyrin. 3 It is obtained from urine by the 

 method employed for the separation of urobilin, or artificially by 

 the action of reducing agents on ha?matin, this being tin- suj 

 source of its origin in the body. It is soluble in either ale.h..l. 

 cthtT, benzol, or chloroform. In acid alcoholic solution it shows 

 thn-c absorption bands, one narrow adjoining D on the red side of 

 this line, one half way between D and E, and one between I and 

 /' clo>el\- resembling the band of urobilin. There is also occa- 

 sionally a fourth very faint band between the first two bands 

 described above. In alcoholic solution made alkaline by ammonia 

 it yields a spectrum closely resembling that of ha>matoporphyrin 

 (see above p. 238). But unlike the latter substance its solutions 

 show a very faint green fluorescence on the addition of xine 

 chloride and ammonia. The oeeurrence. of ha-matoporjihyrin in 

 urine has been frequently recorded 4 and from the >].ectro>c.ipie 

 appearances described above, some observers are inclined to the 

 view that urohrematoporphyrin is not a single substance but a 

 mixture of luematoporplm in with some pigment closely resem- 

 bling urobilin. 



UrohmatoporphyriD is perhaps closely rrlat<-,l t. t\\. ; 

 known as m-Mn!l.r..lia-m:itin and urofusc'>ha-mat in obtained from a 

 case of leprosy* (Mac Munn). 



' Hi-IW. ill Ins .\rrhlv. (2) K.I. If] 



- M:i.- Mum.. / ! UXT. (1883), pp. 13S, 870. 



.//. ../ /'/,,/>"-''. V..N. N i. (1HH4), p. 3fi ; X. (IH- 



Sdkowdd, Zt. /: /./,.,>.:. </, \\,\ xv . (1M1).& 2M. 

 in tin- caaea examined some evidence tli..i tin- ... .ur- <-rnU>- 



in tho urine was perhaps not unconnected with tin* a<iminurtration of 



. 



niKt.irk. I\T. d. ,1. rh.m. <;, * /.' I'.! MI (1874), ^ ii:< l ( tliigr' Arc*. 

 1M. i\ ( 1>74). S. 568. Cf. Hoppe-Seyler, Phytiol. Ckem. 1879, 8. 875. 



