THE VENOM 



259 



believe that tne serum merely frees the lecithin, which acts as the 

 true complement. 



In (2) the lecithin, being free, is able to combine with the ambo- 

 ceptor and cause the haemolysis. They further show that if a 

 blood solution is heated to 62° C, it is inactivated, owing to the 

 union at this temperature of the lecithin directly to the haemoglobin. 



They therefore came to the conclusion that the reason why there 

 was a difference in the action of the venom on red cells was that in 

 the first class — -e.g., man, etc. — -the lecithin was so loosely bound to 

 the cell that it was available as a complement for the venom ambo- 

 ceptor, whereas in the other cases it was more closely bound, and 

 therefore was not available. 



Kyes then went a step further, and mixed 40 c.c. of a i per cent, 

 solution of cobra-venom in a 0*75 per cent, salt solution, with 

 20 c.c. of 20 per cent, solution of lecithin in chloroform, and then 

 centrifugalized the mixture. The result was the separation of 

 chloroform and water into two layers; from the former the cobra- 

 venom lecithin could be precipitated by the addition of pure ether. 

 This body possessed haemolytic but no neurotoxic properties, which 

 entirely remained in the water. Thus Kyes clearly supports the 

 fact first pointed out by the late Dr. Myers that the neurotoxic 

 and haemolytic actions are quite separate. 



This cobra-venom lecithin differs in many of its properties from 

 cobra- venom and from lecithin — e.g., it is soluble in water, which 

 lecithin is not ; it is soluble in alcohol, chloroform, and toluol, which 

 the cobra-venom amboceptor is not. 



' Kyes found that the lecithin was active with the blood cells of all 

 the species he examined, and that the absolute quantity necessary 

 for haemolysis was the same for the blood cells of different species. 

 Thus lecithin corresponding to 0»003 milligramme of the dry cobra- 

 venom was capable of haemolyzing i c.c. of a 5 per cent, suspension 

 of the erythrocytes of guinea-pig, rabbit, man, or ox. 



The lecithide acts very quickly on the red cells (twenty-four times 

 more quickly than the venom), which is due to the fact that no time 

 is spent in developing the real toxic agent — i.e., the lecithide. 



The lecithide is not destroyed by heating to 100° C. for six hours, 

 and is little affected by Calmette's serum. 



Kyes went further, and studied the lecithides of— (i) Lachesis 

 anamallensis Giinther; (2) L. lanceolatus Lacep.; (3) L. flavoviridis 

 Hallow; (4) Crotalus durissus L.; (5) Vipera russellii Shaw (6) Naja 

 hungarus Schleg.; {y) Bungarus candidus L.; (8) B . fasciatus Schn. 



All these poisons, on the addition of sufficient lecithin, destroy 

 blood cells, and, except in the first and the third, the absolute 

 quantity of the poison is the same as that mentioned just 

 above. 



That of Lachesis anamallensis Giinther is, however, twenty-five 

 times weaker, and L. lanceolatus Lacep. ten times weaker, this 

 being due to the fact that the former forms only one-twenty-fifth 

 and the latter one-tenth the usual quantity of lecithide. 



