Am.  Jour,  Pharm. 
May,  1887. 
Inosite. 
255 
verted  by  rapid  distillation  of  the  hydrochloride  into  the  poisonous 
piperidine.  Whilst  the  constitution  of  cadaverine  has  just  been 
indicated,  putrescine  is  either  a  dimethylethylendiamine  or  rnethyl- 
ethyl-niethylendianiine ;  which  of  the  two,  further  investigation  must 
decide.  The  present  methods  of  isolating  the  alkaloids  do  not  yield 
absolutely  certain  results,  and  further  extended  investigation  is  required. 
Supplementary  to  the  above  are  the  researches  of  C.  Gram  (Chem. 
Centr.,  1886,  p.  647),  who  obtained  from  putrid  meat  in  various  con- 
ditions of  putrefaction  by  treatment  with  amylalcohol,  bases,  which, 
like  their  hydrochloric  acid  derivatives,  were  perfectly  inert,  while  de- 
cidedly poisonous  properties  were  observed  in  the  lactic  acid  com- 
pounds under  similar  treatment.  Similar  observations  were  also 
made  with  bases  obtained  from  putrid  yeast  free  from  the  poisonous 
sepsine.  Choline,  which  is  widely  distributed  throughout  animal  and 
vegetable  organisms,  gives  rise  to  a  poisonous  substance  with  muscarine- 
like  action,  if  heated,  in  combination  with  lactic  acid. 
INOSITK1 
By  Maquenne. 
Walnut  leaves  are  extracted  methodically  with  about  four  times  their 
weight  of  water,  and  the  boiling  solution  is  precipitated  first  with  milk 
of  lime,  then  with  lead  acetate,  and  finally  with  basic  lead  acetate, 
which  forms  an  insoluble  compound  with  the  inosite.  The  last  pre- 
cipitate is  washed  with  water,  decomposed  by  hydrogen  sulphide,  and 
the  solution  concentrated  to  a  syrup.  The  boiling  liquid  is  then  mixed 
with  7  or  8  per  cent,  of  concentrated  nitric  acid,  which  destroys 
nearly  all  the  foreign  matter  without  attacking  the  inosite,  and,  after 
cooling,  a  mixture  of  4-5  vols,  of  alcohol  with  1  vol.  of  ether  is 
gradually  added  to  the  nearly  colorless  liquid.  Inosite  is  thus  sepa- 
rated as  a  colorless  flocculent  precipitate,  which  is  recrystallized 
from  dilute  acetic  acid,  dissolved  in  water,  again  treated  with  nitric 
acid,  and  again  precipitated  with  alcohol  and  ether.  A  small  quan- 
tity of  calcium  sulphate,  which  always  occurs  in  the  product,  is 
decomposed  by  adding  barium  hydroxide,  and  the  barium  is  removed 
by  means  of  ammonium  carbonate,  the  product  being  finally  re- 
crystallized  from  water.  The  yield  is  about  2*94  grains  per  kilo,  of 
leaves. 
1Comj)l.  rend.,  104,  p.  225-227.    Reprinted  from  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  April,  1887. 
