HISTORICAL SKETCH. 33 



threw some light upon the cases of sporadic illness which 

 had long been known to occur among the peasants of Lom- 

 bardy, who eat fermented and mouldy corn-meal. In 1876 

 Beugnatelli and Zenoni obtained by the Stas-Otto 

 method from this mouldy meal an alkaloidal substance 

 which was white, non-crystalline, unstable, and insoluble 

 in water, but readily soluble in alcohol and ether. With 

 sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassium it yields a 

 color reaction very similar to that of strychnine. 



The action of the ether extracts from decomposed brain 

 resembles that of curare, but is less marked and more 

 transitory. The beats of the frog's heart were decreased in 

 number and strengthened in force ; the nerves and the 

 muscles lost their irritability, and the animal passed into 

 a condition of complete torpor. The pupils were dilated. 

 GuARESCHi and Mosso, using the Stas-Otto method, 

 obtained from human brains which had been allowed to 

 decompose at a temperature of from 10° to 15° for from 

 one to two months, both volatile and non-volatile bases. 

 Among the former only ammonia and trimethylamiue were 

 in sufficient quantity for identification. With these, how- 

 ever, were minute traces of ptomaines. 



They obtained non-volatile bases from both acid and 

 alkaline solutions. From the former they separated a sub- 

 stance which gave precipitates with gold chloride, phospho- 

 tungstic acid, phospho-molybdic acid, Mayer's reagent, 

 palladium chloride, picric acid, iodine in potassium iodide, 

 and slightly with tannic acid. This substance was not 

 precipitated with platinum or mercury. 



From the alkaline extract there was obtained a substance 

 which in dilute hydrochloric acid solutions gave with gold 

 chloride a heavy yellow precipitate with reduction, also 

 precipitates with phospho-molybdic acid, platinum chloride, 

 Mayer's reagent, picric acid, phospho-tungstic acid, 

 Marme's reagent, iodine in potassium iodide, tannin, bi- 

 chromate of potassium, palladium chloride, and mercuric 

 chloride. It reduces ferric salts. From decomposed fibrin 

 the same investigators obtained one well-defined ptomaine. 

 Analyses of the platinum compound of this substance gave 



