454 CHEMISTRY OF THE LEUCOMAINS. 



THE CREATININ GROUP. 



The knowledge of the formation of basic substances (ptomains) 

 daring the putrefaction of nitrogenous organic matter led to a series 

 of investigations having for their object the isolation of alkaloidal 

 bodies, if such existed, from the normal living tissues of the organ- 

 ism. A number of basic compounds, such as the purin bases al- 

 ready described, had been known for a long time, although their 

 physiological relation to the animal economy was little, if at all, 

 understood. Guareschi and Mosso, in the course of their researches 

 on ptomains, were among the first to direct their attention to the 

 possible presence of ptomain-like bodies in fresh tissues. They ob- 

 tained in those cases where the extraction was carried on without 

 the use of acids only very minute traces of an alkaloidal body (pos- 

 sibly oholin), and an inert substance, methyl hydantoin, which, 

 although it can scarcely be classed as a basic compound, is closely 

 related to creatin, and to methyl guanidin (page 284), and for this 

 reason will be described at the end of this section. Other Italian 

 chemists, as Paterno and Spica and Marino-Zuco, had also shown 

 that the normal fluids and tissues of the body were capable of yield- 

 ing substances alkaloidal in nature, and these were regarded by them 

 as identical with, or similar to, the ptomains of Selmi. 



Gautier devoted much time to the study of the leucomains occur- 

 ring in fresh muscle tissue, and he succeeded in isolating the several 

 compounds presently to be described. 



A number of these substances are credited with possessing an in- 

 tensely poisonous action, and if this is the case, it is very evident 

 that any undue accumulation of such bases in the system, resulting 

 either from an interference in the elimination or lack of destruction, 

 may give rise to serious disturbances. The amount of these substances 

 present in the urine is said to be very small — so small, indeed, that we 

 must rather look upon this minute quantity as having escaped oxi- 

 dation in the body. It is well known that the living tissues possess 

 an enormous oxidizing and reducing power, and, according to Gau- 

 tier, there is constantly going on in the normal tissues of the body a 

 cycle of changes — the formation of leucomains and their subsequent 

 destruction by oxidation, before they have accumulated in suflGlcient 

 quantity to produce poisonous effects. This formation and destruc- 

 tion of bases in the body has been shown to occur in the case of the 

 purin bodies (page 343) and obviously intermediate cleavage prod- 

 ucts in proteid and other metabolisms are being constantly formed 

 to be converted promptly into other and more simple bodies. Cre- 

 atin and creatinin are examples of this kind, and Gautier's bases 

 show more or less relation to these substances. It is eminently de- 

 sirable, however, that the results obtained by Gautier and his co- 

 workers be confirmed, if possible, in view of the reasonable doubt 



