212 
Calcium  Glycerophosphate. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1904. 
CALCIUM  GLYCEROPHOSPHATE. 
By  H.  B.  Eigei,berner. 
Glycerophosphoric  acid  was  discovered  in  1840  by  Pelouse,  who 
obtained  it  by  interaction  of  anhydrous  phosphoric  acid  and  glycerin. 
(American  Journal  of  Pharmacy.)  The  formula  being  C3H9P06, 
consisting  of  a  molecule  of  glycerin,  a  molecule  of  phosphoric  acid,  a 
molecule  of  water  being  set  free  in  the  active  union. 
Glycerin  -f  Phosphoric  acid  =  Glycerophosphoric  acid  -f-  Water. 
C3H5(OH)3  +        H3P04        =  C3H9POs  +  H20 
It  was,  however,  not  until  1894  that  the  salts  of  the  acid  were  intro- 
duced in  medicine  by  Dr.  Albert  Robbin  of  Paris.  Dr.  Robbin  discov- 
ered them  in  Dr.  Brown  Sequard's  Orchitic  Extract,  and  declared 
them  to  be  the  active  principle  of  that  famous  "  Elixir  of  Life." 
Chemically  they  are  compounds  of  various  bases  with  glycerophos- 
phoric acid.  The  rationale  of  the  use  of  glycerophosphates  is  that 
they  contain  phosphorus  in  the  same  state  as  it  exists  in  the  nerve 
tissues  of  the  body,  and  constitutes,  therefore,  a  natural  form  of 
administering  phosphorus,  it  being  at  once  assimilated  without  fur- 
ther change.  This  is  based  upon  the  theory  that  the  lecithin  of 
food  is  converted  into  glycerophosphoric  acid  before  assimilation,  the 
theory  resting  upon  the  fact  that  the  glycerophosphate  salts  are 
found  in  Orchitic  Extract  and  in  the  extract  or  nerve  tissue  gener- 
ally.   {American  Druggist^ 
A.  and  L.  Lumiere  and  F.  Perrin  have  succeeded  in  preparing 
glycerophosphorous  acid  by  treating  a  slight  excess  of  glycerin 
with  phosphoric  trichloride,  keeping  the  mixture  cool.  The 
hydrochloric  acid  formed  is  removed  from  the  mixture  by  means  of 
moist  silver  oxide,  after  filtration  from  the  AgCl  thus  formed,  the 
glycerophosphorous  acid  is  saturated  with  a  base,  such  as  lime,  and 
the  excess  of  glycerin  removed  by  means  of  alcohol,  or  the  original 
acid  mixture  may  be  directly  neutralized  with  lime,  evaporated  at  a 
low  temperature  and  then  treated  with  alcohol,  which  removes  cal- 
cium chloride  and  glycerin,  but  precipitates  calcium  glycerophos- 
phite.  Free  glycerophosphorous  acid  has  not  been  isolated,  since 
it  tends  to  saponify  on  evaporating  its  solutions.  (Proceedings  of  the 
Pharmaceutical  Association,  1902.) 
A  good  method  of  manufacture  for  calcium  glycerophosphate  is 
that  proposed  some  years  since  by  Portes  and  Primier  in  the  Reper- 
toire de  Pharmacie.    (American  Journal  of  Pharmacy.) 
