Colouring -matters of the so-called Bile of Invertebrates, fyc. 393 



This solution looked greenish on a white dish, and after evaporation 

 over the water-bath left a residue of a peculiar colour, a kind of 

 mixture of green, brown, and red. It was soluble in alcohol, giving 

 the spectrum already described (and the dichroism) ; but a portion 

 remained undissolved, which had a lavender colour and dissolved in 

 chloroform, forming a rose-red solution (gaslight, green by daylight), 

 giving the same spectrum as the former chloroformic solution. Both 

 nitric and hydrochloric acid developed bands in this chloroformic 

 solution, somewhat like those of sulphate of cruentine or acid hasmato- 

 porphyrin, but having different measurements and peculiarities of 

 shading. The colouring-matter of ox bile is also soluble in ether, and 

 this gives the same series of bands as an alcohol or chloroform 

 solution. 



A chloroformic solution of sheep bile showed in addition the band 

 of urobilin from X502 — 482. 



Several experiments were made on these colouring-matters, but as 

 my object is merely to show that : (1) chlorophyll as such cannot be 

 present in sheep bile, since the band in red is in an entirely different 

 position ; and (2) to compare the spectrum of sheep and ox bile with 

 that of Gmelin's reaction, I will not here give further details, espe- 

 cially as I hope to study the relationship of these colouring-matters to 

 those of various decomposition products of haemoglobin and chloro- 

 phyll at some future time. 



If chlorophyll were present, not only would the band mentioned 

 above have been nearer the red, but the spectrum of acid chlorophyll 

 should have been got with nitric acid, which was not the case. With 

 regard to the spectrum of ox bile, Hoppe-Seyler* makes a statement 

 which cannot now be accepted. After describing the spectrum of 

 ox bile, he says that the same body can be got by the oxidation of 

 bilirubin, biliverdin, or bilifuscin, with nitric acid or bromine- water, 

 when these are made to act on chloroformic solutions. According to 

 my observations, a body of totally different spectrum appearances is 

 produced under these circumstances. Thus, if the bilicyanm of 

 Heynsius and Campbellf (which according to Hoppe is identical 

 with the sheep bile pigment, and which gives the bands before 

 and after D) be prepared according to the following method, which 

 I find answers for the purpose, a different conclusion is arrived at. 

 An aqueous alkaline solution of bilirubin was treated with nitric 

 acid until the black band was seen at F ; it was then quickly poured 

 into a separating funnel, diluted with water and shaken with chloro- 



# " Handbuch," loo. cit., p. 211. It cannot be denied that the pigment of sheep 

 and ox bile is partly a hsematin derivative, and it does present some likeness to 

 chlorophyll. It may possibly be a mixture of derivatives of both. I hope to in- 

 vestigate this shortly. 



f " Arch. f. d. G-es. Physiol.," IY, p. 497. 



