186 
Chlorophyll. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm^ 
(     April,  1882. 
sap  of  beetroot,  but  in  all  cases  in  relatively  small  quantities.  In 
many  of  the  fodder  grasses,  no  peptones  were  found,  but  an  examina- 
tion of  young  plants  showed  that  there  Avere  present  ferments  which, 
in  the  course  of  the  preparation  of  the  extracts,  acted  on  the  albumins- 
and  converted  them  partly  into  peptones.  Further  it  was  shown  that,, 
using  suitable  methods  of  extraction,  the  formation  of  ])eptone  can 
either  be  entirely  prevented,  or  at  least  modified.  An  examination  of 
lupine  seeds  revealed  the  presence  of  a  substance  intermediate  between 
albumin  and  pe])tone,  similar  to  the  substance  obtained  by  Vines- 
"Abstr.,^'  1881,  1062,  and  named  by  him  vegetable  peptone.  From 
its  properties  the  authors  consider  that  it  cannot  be  classed  as  a  peptone, 
but  only  as  a  transition  substance,  resembling  the  peptone  of  Schmidt 
Miillieim.  As  it  was  found  that  in  many  plant-extracts  obtained  from 
various  sources,  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  nitrogen  constituents  of 
the  phosphotungstic  acid  precipitate  arises  from  the  peptone,  it  is 
probable  tliat  a  more  intimate  examination  of  this  precipitate  would 
lead  to  the  isolation  of  nitrogenous  sub.sttuices ;  and  in  an  added  note 
the  authors  suggest  that  these  probably  beloiig  to  the  xanthin  class, 
which  have  recently  been  found  by  Salomon  in  plant-seeds. — Jour^ 
Chem.  Soc.j  March,  1882,  from  Chem.  Centr.,  1881. 
CHLOEOPHYLL. 
By  B.  Sachsse. 
The  amount  of  chlorophyll  in  plants  is  generally  much  under- 
estimated. From  125  kilos,  of  fresh  leaves  the  author  has  obtained 
no  less  than  100  grams  of  phyllocyanin,  which  he  considers  to  be  the 
principal  constituent  of  chlorophyll.  The  numerous  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  explain  the  reduction  of  carbonic  anhydride  by  the 
green  coloring  matter  of  leaves  have  so  far  been  without  result,  and 
the  following  hypothesis  is,  therefore,  proposed  :  Chlorophyll  is  not 
the  cause  of  the  reduction  of  carbonic  anh}'dride  under  simultaneous 
action  of  light  and  protoplasm,  as  is  generally  supposed,  but  is  itself 
the  first  product  of  that  reduction,  the  chloro})hyll  so  formed  beings 
at  once  converted  into  starch  and  other  carbohydrates,  which  have 
been  usually  considered  to  be  the  first  products  of  the  reduction,  and 
its  place  supplied  by  more  chlorophyll,  resulting  from  a  further  reduc- 
tion of  carbonic  anhydride.    This  hypothesis  the  author  endeavors  to 
