148 



Scientific Proceedings (113). 



If the same dose of toxin is overneutralized with antitoxin in 

 vitro before injection, it does not protect the sensitized guinea pigs 

 from immediate death when even a single minimal lethal dose of 

 antigen is introduced intravenously. On the contrary the same 

 dose of toxin heated for thirty minutes at 8o° C. protected guinea 

 pigs from anaphylactic shock just as unheated toxin did. Heating 

 of the toxin for 30 minutes at ioo° C, however, destroys this 

 property of toxin even if much a larger amount of such toxin is 

 injected. 



Since the culture medium containing toxin contains also I per 

 cent, peptone, a control sensitized guinea pig, instead of toxin 

 received peptone in the amount ten times that present in culture 

 medium carrying the toxin. This guinea pig died immediately 

 after the intravenous injection of antigen, thus showing no 

 protection. It seems thus that the clinical observation concern- 

 ing apparent diminution of anaphylactic reactivity during diph- 

 theria intoxication is borne out by this preliminary experiment. 



71 (1653) 



Studies in the physiology of vitamins: Is water soluble vitamin 

 identical with secretin? 



By GEORGE R. COWGILL. 



[From the Sheffield Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry in Yale 

 University, New Haven, Conn.] 



A similarity in the physiological effects of vitamin B and sub- 

 stances which promote secretion has been alleged by several 

 investigators. 1 We have examined a number of solutions such 

 as extracts of rice polish, wheat embryo, navy bean and yeast, 

 and neutralized tomato juice, demonstrated to contain vitamin B, 

 for their possible action on the secretory function of the pancreas 

 and liver. The products used were tested for vitamin B content on 

 polyneuritic pigeons, and on dogs which had lost their appetite 

 for several days after having been fed a diet lacking this dietary 



1 Voegtlin and Myers: Jour. Phartn. Exper. Therap., 1919, xiii, 301. 

 Uhlmann; Zeitsch. f. Biol., 1918, lxviii, 3. 



