204 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1392 



Arthur D. HmscHFELDEK. Saligenin ia two to 

 four per cent, solution is a practical local anes- 

 thetic not only for minor but also for major 

 surgical operations such as thyroidectomies and 

 laparotomies, and for caudal anesthesia; in 4 to 

 8 per cent, solution it is particularly useful in 

 anesthesia of the male and female urethra for cyst- 

 oscopy. Quigley and Hirschfelder have shown in 

 a series of phenyl carbinols that substitution for 

 one of the inactive hydrogens of the carbinols 

 lessees the anesthetic action and substitution of 

 both causes it to be lost. Ethyl, propyl, n-butyl, 

 iso amyl and benzyl ethers of saligenin were pre- 

 pared from potassium saligenate and the cor- 

 responding halide. They all numb the tongue like 

 cocaine, the butyl ether most, but all also produce 

 a stinging sensation as well. Emulsions made 

 with acacia lower the blood pressure on intravenous 

 in rabbits, the benzyl ether producing the most 

 lasting effects. The mono acetic, di benzoic and 

 mono benzoic esters of saligenin have been pre- 

 pared, as well as the acetate and salicylate of 

 bromsaligenin. 



Molecular magnitude and physiological action: 

 Olivek Kamm. Molecular volume data were uti- 

 lized to predict the relative acute toxicities of 

 monohydroxy alcohols belonging to several dif- 

 ferent homologous series. Benzyl alcohol and its 

 homologues were found to agree with predicted 

 values. 



Preparation and hydrolysis of benzyl esters: E. 

 H. VoLWiLER. Benzyl benzoate as an antispas- 

 modic has come into increasingly general use 

 since it was first suggested by Macht. With the 

 purpose of finding the benzyl esters best adapted 

 as antispasmodics, a number of other benzyl es- 

 ters, both new and old, were prepared and their 

 hydrolysis rates determined. The rates of hydroly- 

 sis of these benzyl esters increase in the following 

 order: salicylate, benzoate, stearate, cinnamate, 

 acetate, succinate, and fumarate. Benzyl acetyl- 

 salicylate, a new compound melting at 26°, was 

 prepared; its rate of hydrolysis is very rapid, 

 due to the presence of the acetyl group. It is 

 therapeutically the most active of all the benzyl 

 esters investigated. 



Arsphenamine : Some factors which influence 

 its colloidal properties: A. E. Sherndal. "When 

 the pentavalent aryl arsenic acids are reduced to 

 the trivalent arseno compounds, their well marked 

 crystalloidal characteristics are suddenly replaced 

 by decidedly colloidal tendencies. This may be 

 caused by the formation of large complex molecu- 



lar aggregates. Arsphenamine in dry form shows 

 marked colloidal properties, which vary in de- 

 gree with the method of preparation. Precipita- 

 tion from ionized solutions tends to increase these 

 colloidal tendencies, while anhydrous non-electro- 

 lytes tend to reduce them to a minimum, as shown 

 by experiment. These variable colloidal charac- 

 teristics are paralleled by differences in the dis- 

 perse state of acid and alkaline arsphenamine so- 

 lutions, and may account for hitherto unexplaiaed 

 toxic and biologic phenomena exhibited by such 

 solutions. 



Laboratory tests vs. clinical results: Egbert P. 

 PISCHELIS. A discussion of the need for clinical 

 evidence of the value of medicinal products and 

 how such evidence may be obtained. The author 

 included a discussion of the necessity for drawing 

 proper conclusions from laboratory tests, as com- 

 pared with clinical results. 



Vanillin glyceride: Francis D. Dodge. A 

 crystalline deposit which had formed after a time 

 in a flavoring mixture composed essentially of va- 

 nillin, glycerin and alcohol was found to be a 

 compound of vanillin and glycerin, apparently 

 analogous to the benzol-glyceride described by 

 rischer. The compound is obtained more readily 

 with acid catalysts (hydrochloric or sulfuric acids) 

 and when purified melts at 159°. It is very 

 slightly soluble in water or ether, more readily in 

 alcohol, and may be reerystallized from hot alco- 

 hol. It is soluble in aqueous potassium hydroxide, 

 and is reprecipitated by acids. The compound is 

 hydrolyzed by hot water, yielding vanillin and 

 glycerin in equivalent amounts. It is also very 

 quickly hydrolyzed in acid solutions, so that the 

 preparation requires much care. Eor purification, 

 the crude crystals are dissolved in the calculated 

 amount of 0.5N KOH, and reprecipitated by 

 somewhat less than the theoretical amount of acid. 

 The compound thus obtained forms thin plates, 

 which are stable in dry air. Under the micro- 

 scope, the crystals show, in convergent polarized 

 light, an orthorhombic interference figure, and are 

 thus easily distinguished from the monoclinic 

 needles of vanillin. The formula is probably: 



HO 



