xii, a. 4 Brill and Williams: A Specific for Leprosy 209 



H. alcalae, and Pangium edule, 9 are peculiar in that they are 

 monobasic unsaturated acids with a ring structure. 1 ' Chaulmoo- 

 gric acid is isomeric with linoleic acid (C 8 H 82 2 ), but differs 

 from the latter in that it combines with but two bromine or iodine 

 atoms and contains but one ethylenic linking and a closed chain. 

 It is very stable toward alkalies. Heating to 300° C. with alkalies 

 does not decompose it. It is optically active, rotating the plane 

 of polarized light to the right. These properties make it dis- 

 tinct from all other known acids, and one would expect its phys- 

 iological properties to be different from those of other acids. 



Hydnocarpic, the other peculiar acid found in the oil of these 

 seeds, is a lower member of this same series. 



Chattopadhyay 10 has taken exception to the conclusions of 

 Power and his coworkers regarding the presence of acids of the 

 nature of chaulmoogric and hydnocarpic in chaulmoogra oil, but 

 his results are not complete enough to substantiate his contention. 

 The results by one of us (Brill) on H. venenata 11 are in agree- 

 ment with those of Power et al., and unless Chattopadhyay can 

 produce results which really contradict those of Power, the results 

 of the latter will continue to be accepted. That the effectiveness 

 of chaulmoogra oil may be due to the presence of free acids has 

 received further confirmation recently by the experiments of 

 Leonard Rogers, 12 who administered the free acids themselves 

 and these in the form of their sodium salts. However, the com- 

 pound known as antileprol, which is the mixture of the ethyl 

 esters of chaulmoogric and hydnocarpic acids, was without effect 

 when used by the Philippine health authorities. We should ex- 

 pect the ethyl esters to have an effect as powerful as that of the 

 free acids, since they would be readily hydrolyzed in the system. 

 Indeed it is hardly to be expected that the free acids should be so 

 radically different in activity from the glyceryl esters, the neutral 

 oil itself, since the oil when absorbed would be undoubtedly 

 hydrolyzed to some extent in the system. The use of the soluble 

 alkali salts would appear to be more promising on account of 

 their solubility and more ready absorption, and as Rogers obtains 

 promising reactions when a solution of these salts is administered 

 intravenously, they deserve to be tested thoroughly by the va- 

 rious scientists interested in the treatment of leprosy. 



The work described in this article was undertaken in the hope 



s Brill, ibid. (1917), 12, No. 1. 



' Barrowcliff and Power, Journ. Chem. Soc. London (1907), 91, 557. 



10 Chattopadhyay, P. C, Am. Journ. Pharm. (1915), 87, 473. 



u Loc. cit. 



12 Lancet (1916), 190, 288; Indian Med. Gaz. (1916), 51, 195 and 437. 



