CHOLIN. 295 



distributed in the vegetable kingdom, especially so in fatty seeds. 

 Thus it has been found (Harnack, 1876) accompanying muscarin in 

 toadstool (Agaricus muscarius) ; in hops, and hence in beer (Griess 

 and Harrow) ; in the seeds of Trigonella, in Indian hemp, areca- 

 and earth-nuts, hemp seeds and lentils (Jahns) ; in the seeds of white 

 mustard, as a glycosid (von Babo) ; in ergot (Brieger) ; in the germs 

 of pumpkins and lupines (Schulze, Zeitsohr. f. physiol. Chem., 11, 

 365) ; in beech-nuts and morels (Helvella esculenta, Boletus luridus, 

 Amanita pantherina, Bohm) ; in flores sambuci (elder), and extracts 

 of belladonna, hyoscyamus, ipecacuanha root and Acorns calamus 

 (Kunz), ipecacuanha root (Amdt), 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 (Jacobson, 

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

 in Cheken leaves (Myrtus cheken, Weiss). According to Lippmann 

 (Ber., 20, 3206), it is present together with betain in the molasses 

 from beet-root sugar. Cholin (Ritthausen) and betain (Bohm) exist 

 together in cotton-seeds ; hence, cholin occurs in the press-cakes 

 from cotton-seeds (Bohm). Maxwell by extraction of cotton-seed 

 cake with alcohol obtained about five times as much betain as cholin. 

 With betain it occurs in worm-seed (Artemisia Cina, Jahns) ; in 

 sprouts of malt and wheat (Schulze and Frankfurt). According to 

 Schulze, and also Ritthausen, cholin occurs with betain and another 

 base in the seed of the vetch, and in peas with a base resembling 

 betain. The two bases have also been found together in the roots 

 and leaves of Scopolia atropoides by Siebert. 



Partheil found cholin, but not betain, in the seeds of Cytisus 

 laburnum. Kresling obtained it from the pollen of the fir, Pinus 

 sylvestris. 



Schulze and his pupils have shown that arginin, cholin, and xan- 

 thin bases occur in lupine sprouts. The same compounds with ver- 

 nin occur in gourd sprouts, whereas in the sprouts of Vicia sativa, 

 betain, cholin, and guanidin are present. The latter is undoubtedly 

 derived from arginin, which see. 



Cholin may readily be prepared, after the method of Diakonow, 

 from the yolk of eggs. These are extracted with ether, then with 

 alcohol, and the extracts thus obtained evaporated, when the result- 

 ing residues are boiled with baryta for one hour. The filtrate, after 

 the removal of the barium by carbonic acid, is evaporated and the 

 residue is extracted with absolute alcohol. The alcoholic solution is 

 now precipitated with platinum chlorid. ferieger (II., 55) has pre- 

 sented a method which is much simpler in its details and obviates 

 the use of the expensive platinum chlorid. The tissues rich in 

 lecithin, as yolk of eggs, brain, etc., are heated with concentrated 

 hydrochloric acid for some hours on the water-bath. The insoluble 

 residue is filtered off, and the filtrate, after neutralization of the ex- 



