270 Prof. Latham, On the formation of lactic acid, [May 11, 



The ordinary formula for creatine — and according to this we ought 

 to obtain creatine artificially from ethene alanine. 



I have thus endeavoured to show that albumen is a compound 

 of cyan-alcohols united to a benzene nucleus, these being derived, 

 as I have pointed out in my previous paper, from the various 

 aldehydes, glycols and ketones ; that lactic acid is obtained in 



TOFT 

 two ways, either from C 2 H 4 \ ~ „ , or from changes and condensation 



in CH 2 jpiv-r, from which latter creatine and creatinine are also 



derived ; and that urea may be obtained from one series of cyan- 

 alcohols with the production of a cyan-alcohol higher in the series. 



There are still one or two other points that I do not wish 

 to leave unnoticed. According to Tieman, the cyanamides 

 /NH 2 



E C<r H are very unstable bodies and with the elimination of 



\CN 

 NH 3 very easily condense into Imido-nitriles*. 



R-CH-CN 



2{R-CH(NH 2 )...CN} = \m +NH 3 



R - CH - CN 

 R-CH-CN 

 and \ NH + {R - CH (NH.) - CN} 



R - CH - ON 



R - CH - CN . R 



= NH,+ >N-CH 



\CN 

 R - CH - CN 



If then the force holding the cyan-alcohols composing living 

 proteid together were suddenly withdrawn, changes would quickly 

 take place in these unstable bodies; there would be the formation 

 of some acid and the different cyanamides, which latter would 

 undergo the condensation above described. Does this not offer 

 some clue to the phenomena of rigor mortis and the coagulation of 

 the blood ? 



* Berichte, xiv. s. 1958. 



