Some Ethers and Esters of Saligenin. 147 



from ten to twenty-five minutes, except in the case of the normal 

 butyl ether which was more prolonged and lasted from one to two 

 hours, thus being more prolonged than that of saligenin. With 

 the dibenzoyl ester no anesthesia whatever was obtained, even 

 after thirty minutes' exposure to a five per cent, emulsion. This 

 corresponds to the results which have been obtained with benzyl 

 benzoate and other benzyl esters by Macht and others. 



All these substances are, however, very irritating. On the 

 tongues of human beings they give rise to a bitter taste and an 

 intense burning sensation which is most marked with the normal 

 butyl, and least marked with the dibenzoyl ester. 



Upon the contractions of excised segments of rabbits' duode- 

 num in 400 mils of aerated Ringer-Langendorff solution at 38-39 

 the addition of 2.5 mils of ethyl saligenin decreased the amplitude, 

 slowed the rate, and finally caused complete inhibition. 1.5 mils 

 of w-butyl, 0.5 mil of iso-amyl, 1.0 mil of benzoyl ester, and 10.0 

 mils of the dibenzoyl ester produced the same effects; but only 

 0.8 mil of the benzyl ether was required to produce complete 

 inhibition, accompanied by a very marked lowering of tone. This 

 lowering of tone was also striking with the iso-amyl but not with 

 the other ethers. In the case of the acetyl ester there was at first 

 an increased amplitude (probably due to acetic acid from hydroly- 

 sis) with slowing of the rate, gradually followed by inhibition. 



When injected intravenously into starved rabbits, anaesthe- 

 tized with ether, no visible effect upon the contractions of the 

 exposed small intestine could be observed through a glass window 

 in the abdominal wall after the ethyl and the iso-amyl ethers, but 

 the w-butyl, the benzyl, the benzoyl and the dibenzoyl compounds 

 all caused a definite inhibition of peristalsis and a well-marked 

 dilatation of the intestine. Contrary to the findings of Mason 

 and Piek, and in accord with the experiments of Macht, we also 

 observed this inhibition after the injection of benzyl benzoate. 

 When applied locally to the rabbit's intestine, all our compounds, 

 with one exception, caused inhibition and dilatation. The acetic 

 ester, however, on intravenous injection augmented the peri- 

 stalsis, and when applied locally produced spastic contractions. 



All the emulsions, on intravenous injection, caused a fall of 

 blood pressure, which varied from a sudden transitory fall in the 



