472 CHEMISTBr OF THE LEUCOMAINS. 



Zuco (1885) was more successful, inasmuch as he succeeded in ob- 

 taining from fresh tissues and organs relevant quantities of a base 

 identical with cholin, and, in addition, he obtained extremely minute 

 traces of other alkaloidal bodies. One of these, obtained by the Stas 

 method from the liver and spleen of an ox, exhibited in hydrochloric 

 acid solution a beautiful violet fluorescence resembling very much 

 that of the salts of quinin. A similar base, probably identical with 

 this one, was obtained by Bence Jones and I)upr6 (1856) from liver, 

 nerves, tissues, and other organs, and was named by them " animal 

 chinoidin." A greenish-blue fluorescence is frequently observable 

 in the alcoholic extracts of decomposing glue as well as from other 

 putrefying substances, and is undoubtedly due to products formed 

 by some one of the fluorescing bacteria. From a number of very 

 thorough experiments, he concluded that basic substances do not 

 preexist in fresh organs, but that the acids employed in the process 

 of extraction exert a decomposing action upon the lecithin present in 

 the tissues, resulting in the formation of cholin. He further showed 

 that the method of Dragendorff, on account of the larger quantity of 

 extractives, which forms invariably gave a larger yield of this base 

 than did the Stas-Otto method. Similar observations were made by 

 Guareschi and Mosso, by Coppola and otherfe. At the present time 

 there is no doubt that some basic substances, among these cholin and 

 the hexon bases, can be formed by the action of reagents, and, on 

 the other hand, it is equally well demonstrated that similar bases do 

 preexist in the physiological condition of the tissues and fluids of the 

 body. 



Recently R. Wurtz has obtained from normal blood a number of 

 crystalline products of alkaline reaction, which form well crystalliz- 

 able double salts with gold, platinum, and mercuric chlorids. These, 

 however, have not been as yet subjected to analysis, because of the 

 minute quantities which were isolated. 



Marino-Zuco and Martin in 1894 showed the presence of cholin 

 in fresh blood. 



In 1899 Gulewitsch carried out a most painstaking investigation 

 on the leucomains in fresh brains with especial reference to the de- 

 tection of the poisonous neurin. The possible presence of the latter 

 has been suggested as explaining the auto-intoxications met with in 

 mental disorders. By means of Brieger's method he obtained cholin 

 but no neurin. Moreover, he was unable to obtain the latter from 

 protagon. The aqueous brain extract gave a very small quantity of 

 two bases, probably diamins. Urea was also obtained. 



In extensive skin-burns Kijanitzin isolated a peptotoxin-like base 

 from the urine and blood, more abundantly from the organs. A 

 similar base was shown by him to be produced by the action of gastric 

 juice on the blood in the presence of bacteria ; also in the early stages 

 of the decomposition of blood. The explanation of the fatal results fol- 



