18 Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. 



chloroform solution with acetic anhydride and sulphuric acid. The digitonin 

 precipitate, which the above treatment had not freed from traces of some 

 fluorescent colouring matter, was finely powdered and decomposed by heating 

 in xylene vapour. The clear xylene solution on evaporation gave a yellow, 

 crystalline, oily solid. This was purified by repeated crystallisation from 

 dilute alcohol, from which it separated when pure in microscopic hexagonal 

 plates. It melted at 136°-137° C. and gave the usual sterol colour tests. 

 The acetate, made in the usual manner with sodium acetate and acetic 

 anhydride, crystallised from alcohol in glistening leaves. It was less soluble 

 in alcohol than the original substance. It melted at 135°-136° C, but if 

 heated very slowly, at about 130° C, the benzoate, made by the action of 

 benzoyl chloride in pyridin solution, crystallised readily from strong alcohol, 

 in which it was sparingly soluble. It melted at 142° C. to a clear liquid, 

 which on cooling gave at the moment of solidification a brilliant green play 

 of colours, gradually changing to brown. This substance was one of the 

 phytosterols of the bran, which had not been eliminated in the rough extrac- 

 tion with ether. The same substance was obtained by Dore'e and Gardner 

 from horse dung. 



No trace of cholesterol was discovered. This bears out our previous 

 conclusion that cholesterol is not found in the normal faeces of herbivorous 

 animals. 



We are indebted to the Government Grant Committee of the Koyal Society 

 for help in carrying out this work. 



