M. Strecker on the Relations of some Organic Bases. 137 

 When treated with nitric acid, guanidine is oxidized into urea : 

 C 2 H 5 N 3 +2HO = C 2 H 4 N 2 2 + NH 3 . 



Guanidine. Urea. 



When heated, guanidine yields products analogous to those from 

 mellone ; it stands in close relation to cyanamide, and may be 



C2N 1n 



considered as cyanodiamine, C 2 H 5 N 3 = H 2 J 



H 3 }N. 

 In its decompositions, guanine is closely allied to creatine ; for 

 Dessaignes found that this body, when oxidized, is resolved into 

 oxalic acid and methyluramine, C 4 H 7 N 3 , which is nothing more 



C 2 N -) 

 than methvlguanidine, C 2 H 3 l-N 2 . And under other circum- 



H 4 J 

 stances Dessaignes found that creatine yields an acid, C 8 H 4 N 2 O s , 

 which appears to be a methyl parabanic acid, judging from a 

 comparison of the properties and of the formulae of the two acids, 



C 4 4 "| C 4 4 ~] 



C 2 2 ^N 2 C 2 2 ^N 2 



H 2 J C 2 H 3 .HJ 



Parabanic acid. Methylparabanic acid. 



From its decompositions, creatine may be regarded as com- 

 posed of cyanamide and of methylglycocol (sarcosine) ; and its 

 relations to creatinine and guanine are evident from a comparison 

 of the formulae 



C 4 H 2 2 

 C 2 H 



Guanine 



that is, guanine may be regarded as creatinine containing an 

 atom of hydrogen in the place of methyle, and containing besides 

 2 equivs. of cyanogen, in which it is analogous to a number of 

 organic bases, such as cyaniline, cyanocodeine, &c. 



Strecker has also investigated several points in reference to the 

 artificial xanthine which he prepared*, which prove that it is 

 identical with the natural product, and not merely isomeric, as 

 had been suggested. He finds that xanthine is soluble in 570 

 parts of boiling, and in 2120 parts of cold water. 



From its formula, xanthine may be considered as belonging 

 to an homologous series along with theobromine and caffeine, as 



* Phil. Mag. vol. xviii. p. 135. 



