28 SUPRARENAL GLANDS. 



In the report made to the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of 

 the American Medical Association, no attempt was made to check up 

 the results with the rise obtained from a definite amount of pure 

 adrenalin, but only to compare the activity of the preparation on the 

 market. Sollmann and Brown wisely remark that their results give 

 no idea as to the activity of the preparations before leaving the 

 manufacturers' hands. a 



An interesting commercial problem is to see by what means the 

 yield of adrenalin can be increased. Toujan has claimed that in the 

 products of auto-digestion of pancreas there is a body (not tyrosin) 

 which added to the ground-up suprarenals does this, 6 while Halle has 

 found that the addition of tyrosin to the ground-up suprarenals caused 

 in some cases an increase in the adrenalin yield. c Others claim that 

 the addition of ground-up muscle added to suprarenal extract does 

 the same. d 



TOXICITY OF THE ACTIVE PRINCIPLE. 



The following data on the toxicity of adrenalin may be of use : 



The lethal dose for frogs is over 0.50 mg. per kilo. The relatively 

 large amount necessary to kill is due to the fact that pulmonary 

 respiration in frogs is not indispensable. In animals death is usually 

 due to pulmonary oedema and an action on the heart. 



The subcutaneous injection of 0.01 gram per kilo kills guinea pigs, 

 but 0.004 gram rarely. 



In rabbits 0.02 gram per kilo given hypodermically is fatal. 6 

 Baylac gives the immediate toxicity by this method as 1 eg. per kilo 

 for rabbits and guinea pigs. One milligram adrenalin subcutaneously 

 injected in rabbits weighing 400 grams rapidly kills/ On the intra- 

 venous injection into rabbits, 0.0006 gram per kilo is always fatal/ 

 while three out of four die from 0.0004 gram per kilo. The imme- 



« Sollmann, T., and Brown, E. D. Comparative physiologic activity of some com- 

 mercial suprarenal preparations. Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, vol. 47, p. 792, 1906. 

 Note. — Compare also Hunt, R., Comparative physiologic activity of some commer- 

 cial suprarenal preparations, in Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, vol. 47, p. 790, 1906. 



b Toujan, G. Recherches exper. sur l'adrenaline. These, Toulouse, 1905, p. 67. 



c Halle, W. L. Ueber d. Bildung d. Adrenalins im Organismus. Beitr. z. Chem. 

 Physiol, u. Path., vol. 8, p. 276, 1906. 



^Abelous, G. E., Soulie, A., and Toujan, G. Influence des extraits des organes et 

 des tissus animaux soumis a l'autolyse sur la production de l'adrenaline. Comp. 

 Rend. Hebd. Soc. de Biol., vol. 60, p. 16, 1906. 



e Taramasio, P. Etude toxicol. de l'adrenaline. These, Geneve, 1902, p. 30. 



^Paton, D. N. Effect of adrenalin on sugar and nitrogen excretion in the urine of 

 birds. Jour. Physiol., vol. 32, p. 62, 1905. 



^Battelli, F. Toxicite de l'adrenaline en injections intraveineuses. Comp. Rend. 

 Hebd. Soc. de Biol., vol. 54, p. 1247, 1902. 



