BIOCHEMISTRY: ABEL AND PINCOFFS 
515 
from "Pituitrin" was practically devoid of an oxytocic action, as has 
already been stated. Investigations on the bio-chemistry of the intes- 
tinal and gastric mucosa which we hope soon to publish also lend no 
support to the theory that pituitary extracts contain an active albumose. 
We have prepared a water-soluble powder from this mucosa which is 
highly active for the guinea pig's uterus (1:1,000,000) and for the in- 
testinal strip (1 : 250,000), which induces a distinct rise of blood-pressure 
in the cat, and which in respect to its chemical reactions, its behavior 
towards ammonium sulphate and polarized light, is indistinguishable 
from a diluted pituitary extract. The similar behavior in these several 
respects of gastric and intestinal 'motiline' solutions and pituitary 
extracts first led us to suspect that these latter also contain albumoses. 
Now, in the case of these intestinal preparations, we have had sufficient 
material on hand for the appHcation of purification processes. We 
finally emerged with a secondary albumose which was entirely devoid of 
oxytocic, pressor, depressor or secretory action. It is this experience, 
together with our discovery than an inactive albumose can be prepared 
from the ordinary pituitary extracts, as already stated, which fortifies 
us in our belief that the proteoses of the gland have nothing whatever 
to do with the physiological activity of the organ. 
It is not our purpose to consider here the literature^ pertaining to the 
'peristaltic hormones' that are known to occur in almost all, if not all, 
organs of the body, It is worthy of note, however, that an extract of 
the gastric or intestinal mucosa can be prepared, as we have already 
stated, which has a pressor action for the circulation and a marked 
oxytocic power in a concentration of 1 :1, 000,000. This powerful action 
points strongly to the conclusion that here also, as in the case of pituitary 
extracts, we are dealing with a motiline which, in a state of chemical 
purity, would be fully as active as /S-imidoazolylethylamine. And this 
again leads us to the supposition that the oxytocic principle (or motiline) 
of the hypophysis is not a hormone or substance specific to this organ, but 
is rather a widely distributed substance, everywhere the same, which 
may have its origin in the various tissues, in the gastric or intestinal 
mucosa, or which may be absorbed as such from among the products of 
digestion. We hope that our discovery of the contaminating and diffi- 
cultly separable proteoses in physiologically active extracts will pave the 
way to the solution of these problems. 
We cannot conclude this communication without adding a few words 
in regard to the presence of proteoses in the various tissues of the body. 
Proof of their existence in pituitary extracts has been given and reference 
has been made to their presence in gastric and intestinal extracts. By 
