216 Messrs. Dorée and Gardner. Origin and  [ Dee. 20, 
putrefactive changes in the intestine are reduced to a minimum, the 
cholesterol of the body is excreted unchanged. The reduction of cholesterol 
in the intestine thus seems established in the case of man, and Bondzynski 
and Humnicki, continuing, examined the feces of the dog and the horse.* 
In the case of the dog, they stated that the cholesterol of the bile was 
excreted unchanged, but in that of the horse intestinal reduction went 
much further than in man, and a cholesterol-like body, Co7Hs4 o, 50, was 
found, crystallising in microscopic needles melting at 74° to 75° C. 
This hippocoprosterol, as it was called, was further examined in 1905 by 
Wilenko.t The results of his work go to prove that the excrement of the 
horse contains two isomeric bodies, C27H52 or 540, one readily soluble, the other 
much less soluble, in 97 per cent. alcohol. These he designated as « and B- 
hippocoprostero] respectively. The « body crystallises in minute rhombic tables 
similar to cholesterol crystals. When dry it forms silky scales which are as 
soft as wax and melt at 66° to 67°C. The 6 isomer appears to be identical 
with Bondzynski and Humnicki’s hippocoprosterol, though Wilenko gives its. 
melting point as 56° instead of 74°. 
In order to throw some further light on the origin and functions of 
cholesterol in the animal economy, it appeared to us in the first instance 
essential, more especially considering the discrepancies and scantiness of the 
work of previous observers, to make a comparative study of the forms in 
which cholesterol is found in the feeces of different animals and to determine 
to what extent the substances thus excreted are dependent upon the food 
taken. In the present paper we give an account of our experiments on the 
feeces of herbivorous animals, those examined being the horse, cow, sheep, and 
rabbit. 
Method of Hxpervment. 
The material was obtained from grass-fed animals (Hampshire) and was. 
sometimes dried directly in the water oven, but generally spread out in 
thin layers and allowed to dry in the air. In order to deal effectively with 
such a light, bulky substance, we employed large metal extractors capable 
of holding 2 to 5 kilogrammes of material. They were made on the Soxhlet. 
pattern, fitted with long metal condensers, and the ether vessel was enclosed 
in an air chamber warmed with incandescent electric lamps. The dried 
material was extracted usually for five to six days with ether, the dark green 
solution obtained diluted, if necessary, with more ether and at once saponified 
with sodium ethylate in alcoholic solution according to the method of Kossel 
* Ibid. | 
+ “Hippocoprosterol,” M. Gittelmacher Wilenko, ‘ Bull. International de l Académie: 
des Sciences de Cracovie,’ No. 1, Jan., 1906, p. 20. 
