i6 



LIVING PROTOPLASM AND 



the living protoplasm by regulating contrivances to the respira- 

 tionprocess. 



The question arises now : can it be proved directly or 

 indirectly that aldehyde-and amidogroups are really present in 

 the living protoplasm ? — If our hypothesis is correct, that the 

 vital motion emanates from labil aldehyde-and amidogroups, it 

 follows, that every substance reacting in great dilution with 

 those groups must prove a poison for every living vegetable or 

 animal organism.^ 



As experiments confirmed this conclusion , our hypothesis of the 

 formation and nature of active albumen has thus received essential 

 support. Very correct views were expressed by Nencki in regard 

 to the cause of poisonous actions. 2) " Why is it that a poison- 

 ous substance has a well defined action, while slight changes in 

 the chemical constitution of the poison bring on quite different 

 actions? This depends on the one hand upon the chemical 

 constitution of the protoplasm and on the other hand upon the 

 chemical structure of the poisonous substance." Indeed in most 

 cases the poisonous actions are the result of a chemical reaction 

 upon the albuminous substances of the living cells. If we lessen 

 the chemical energy of a poisonous substance by introducing a 

 carboxyl-,-or a sulfogroup, the physiological action will be also 

 lessened. If we substitute alkyls for the hydrogenatoms of 

 amido-or imidogroups the poisonous character is decreased ; 

 while on the other hand innocuous substances might turn into 

 poisons if imidogroups, or amidogroups of a certain lability are 

 formed. Thus the non-poisonous hydrobenzamid can be trans- 

 formed by atomic migrations into the poisonous amarin, isomeric 

 to the former. — 



And what an enormous change in the poisonous qualities is 

 observed, if one hydrogenatom of the ammonia-molecul is re- 

 placed by the hydroxyl,-or by the amido-group ! While ammonia 

 in form of neutral salts is in a certain dilution no poison for 

 animals, the substitution-products thus obtained, viz. the hy- 

 droxylamin resp. diamid in the same dilution in neutral solutions 

 are very strong poisons. — Bacteria and mouldfungi, that are not 



1) Compare O. Loew, A natural system of poisonous actions, Munich, r8g3 

 Chapt. 4. 



2) Arch des scienc. biolog. St. Petersburg 1892 p. 61, 



