xii. a.i Brill and William*: A Specific for Leprosy 217 



The remainder was examined for crystalline bodies without any 

 success. 



Directions: Initial dose 5 cubic centimeters, to be increased later if ad- 

 visable; shake before using. 



No reaction was observed when No. 8 was administered. 



The ethyl esters of the acids present in chaulmoogra oil were 

 prepared by esterification of a mixture of alcohol and chaul- 

 moogra oil, using hydrochloric acid gas as the dehydrating agent. 

 The excess acid was neutralized by adding dry sodium carbonate. 

 This sample was submitted as No. 9. No observed reactions 

 attended its administration. 



Because of the reputed superiority of the crude oil over the 

 refined oil, the two remaining samples were prepared. To de- 

 termine if the greater effectiveness of the crude oil might be due 

 to the presence of free acids, No. 10 was prepared. Two hun- 

 dred grams of chaulmoogra oil were saponified, and the free 

 acids were dissolved in a portion of the original oil. This pre- 

 paration had an acid value of 11.47 cubic centimeters 0.1 N base. 

 Directions: Dose same as chaulmoogra oil. 



The reactions observed were reported as no more marked than 

 the reactions caused by chaulmoogra oil itself. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH AMYGDALIN 



The other speculation, regarding the cause of the greater 

 effectiveness of the crude oil, that it might be due to the pre- 

 sence of small amounts of the cyanogenetic glucoside, induced 

 us to investigate the effect of amygdalin on leprosy. Amyg- 

 dalin ls is hydrolyzed by emulsin, crab juice, and acids, giving 

 glucose, benzaldehyde, and hydrocyanic acid. Wchler and Fre- 

 richs Ui state that amygdalin in small quantities is not poisonous 

 to dogs, but when given in quantities of from 4 to 5 grams it 

 causes sickness, and when accompanied by emulsin it is extremely 

 poisonous, since it is hydrolyzed by the enzyme giving free hydro- 

 cyanic acid. 



To determine the rapidity with which it is eliminated from 

 the blood stream, 0.25 gram was dissolved in 1 cubic centimeter of 

 water, and this solution was injected into the vein of the right 

 ear of a rabbit. Four rabbits were so treated. At the end of 

 two, ten, and twenty-four hours 0.5 cubic centimeter quantities 

 of blood were drawn from the left ears of the rabbits, and this 



15 Abderhalden, Emil, Biochemisches Handlexikon. Julius Springer, Ber- 

 lin (1911), 2, 707. 



"Ayinal. d. Chem. & Pharm. (1848), 65, 337. 



