238 BACTERIAL POISONS. 



protagon had been removed, be thus treated, only choline in 

 formed, whercjis pure protagon, on heating with baryta, 

 yields neurine. It has been olrtained from the ycliv of 

 eggs ; from bile ; from fresh brains (Brieger) ; from fresh 

 eggs, blood, lungs, and hearts, and from lecithin (Marino- 

 Zirco) ; from human placenta (Boefim) ; from the eye ; 

 from commercial neurine (Brieger) ; from fresh as well as 

 decomposing internal organs of the cadaver (Brieger, 

 1885) ; from herring-brine and decomposing pilvc, three 

 days in midsummer (Bocklisci-i). It has also been isolated 

 from cultures of vibrio protens (Bockllsch), and of comma 

 bacillus (Brieger). Ei-irenberg (1887) found it in 

 j)oisonous sausage, and, by growing a bacillus obtained from 

 this, on liver. 



Not only has choline been met with in the animal tissues, 

 but it has also been observed within the last few years to be 

 very widely distributed in the vegetal)le kingdom, especi- 

 ally so in fatty seeds. Thus, it has been found (Harnack, 

 1876) accompanying muscarine, in toadstool ( Agaricus mus- 

 carius) ; in hops, and hence in l)eer (Griess and Harrow ; 

 in the seeds of Trigonella, in Indian hemp, areca- and eartii- 

 uuts, hemp seeds and lentils (Jahns); in the seeds of white 

 mustard, as a glycoside (vox Babo); in ergot (Brieger); 

 in the germs of pumpkins and lupines (Schulze, Zdtschr. 

 f. Physiol. Chem.,11, 365); in beech-nuts and morels (Hel- 

 vellaesculenta. Boletus lusidus, Amanita pantherina, Bohm) ; 

 in floras sambuci (elder), and extracts of belladonna, hyos- 

 .cyamus, ipecacuanha root and Acorus calamus (Kunz), 

 and Scopolia Japonica (Schmidt and Henschke) ; in the 

 sprouts and cotyledons of Soja beans (Schulze, 1888), in 

 the fat from hog's bean, vetch, peas and lupines (Jacob- 

 son, 1889) ; from the lecithin of lupine seeds (Schulze and 

 Steiger) ; and in Cheken leaves (Myrtus cheken, Weifs). 

 According to Lippmann {Bcr. 20, 3206), it is present, to- 

 gether with betaine, in the molasses from beet-root sugar. 

 Choline (Eitthausen) aud betaine (Bohm) exist together 

 in cotton-seeds ; hence, choline occurs in the press-cakes from 

 cotton-seeds (Bohm). According to Schulze, and also 

 Eitthausen, choline occurs with betaine and another 



