56 
Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
Note on the Action of Hydroxylamine Hydrochlorate. 
By W. Brodie Brodie, M.B., C.M., Physiological Laboratory, 
University, Glasgow. ( Communicated by Dr M‘Kendrick.) 
(Read February 7, 1898.) 
Hydroxylamine, NH 2 OH (oxyammonia), is an unstable substance 
only to be had in weak solutions. It forms many salts, two of 
which, the sulphate, 2(NH 2 0H.)H 2 S0 4 , and the hydrochloride, 
NH 2 OH.HCl, are to be found in commerce. 
My attention was first directed to this substance, hydroxylamine, 
by seeing a reference to the work of Loew and Bokorny on the 
chemical constitution of protoplasm, and to their theory that there 
is present in it a group of atoms of the nature of an aldehyde. To 
this group of atoms they attribute the energy of living protoplasm, 
and state, in support of this, that hydroxylamine, which is said to 
have a strong affinity for aldehyde, rapidly kills protoplasm in 
algae and the young shoots of plants. 
My intention was to use both hydroxylamine and its salts upon 
some forms of animal protoplasm, but so far the hydrochlorate is 
the only preparation that has been available. This salt is easily 
soluble in water and is extremely acid. It is difficult to neutralise 
it exactly, as at a certain point it reacts to both red and blue litmus 
simultaneously. Solutions of 1 per cent, strength were employed 
almost entirely. 
Ciliated epithelium, scraped from the mouths of frogs, was 
examined in *7 5 per cent, salt solution, and a drop of the solution of 
the hydroxylamine salt was then run in. In a minute or so the 
ciliary movements became somewhat slower and continued to be so 
until they finally ceased. At the same time, the cell-body gradually 
cleared up, and the nucleus came more prominently into view. 
Ciliated epithelial cells, from the gills of mussels, behaved 
exactly in the same way. 
Nerve-muscle preparations gave negative results, both when 
irrigated for a long time with the fluid, and when the solution had 
