308 
Epinephrin  and  its  Compounds. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1903. 
be  apparent  that  my  earlier  statements  in  regard  to  the  basic  and 
alkaloidal  properties  of  epinephrin  were  entirely  correct,  and  that 
such  of  these  properties  as  are  not  possessed  by  suprarenin  can  be 
conferred  upon  it  by  appropriate  treatment. 
It  will  also  be  apparent  that  while  much  evidence  has  been 
brought  forward  in  my  whole  series  of  papers  in  support  of  the 
statement  that  alkaloidal  epinephrin  is  a  chemical  individual  whose 
composition  is  represented  by  the  formula  C10HnNO3,  and  while  it 
has  been  clearly  proved  that  suprarenin  may  easily  be  converted 
into  epinephrin,  nothing  is  definitely  known  in  regard  to  the  chemi- 
cal composition  of  suprarenin. 
ON  ADRENALIN. 
While  the  writer  was  engaged  in  refuting  the  statements  of  v. 
Furth,  a  crystalline  preparation  of  the  active  principle  was  made  by 
Takamine.1 
His  method,  a  very  simple  one,  is  based  on  his  observation  that 
ammonia  precipitates  the  active  principle  directly  from  a  sufficiently 
concentrated  aqueous  extract  of  the  gland. 
Although  I  had  demonstrated  that  epinephrin  is  a  basic  sub- 
stance, and  although  I  had  repeatedly  shown  that  it  can  be  precipi- 
tated as  a  flocculent  substance  by  ammonia,  the  fact  that  it  could  be 
precipitated  in  a  physiologically  active  and  crystalline  condition 
directly  from  gland  extracts  had  escaped  me  because  I  used  either 
an  insufficient  quantity  of  ammonia  or  too  dilute  a  solution  of  the 
active  principle.  In  his  first  paper,  Takamine  gave  no  description 
of  his  method  and  no  analytic  data  as  to  the  elementary  composi- 
tion of  his  substance,  but  only  a  brief  list  of  well-known  reactions 
which  his  substance  gave  in  common  with  the  preparations  of 
others.    He  named  his  preparation  adrenalin. 
Shortly  after  the  appearance  of  this  paper,  Aldrich2  also  prepared 
the  free  base  in  the  active  and  crystalline  condition  and  likewise  by 
the  use  of  ammonia  or  sodium  carbonate  as  a  precipitant.  His 
method  differs  from  that  of  Takamine  only  in  certain  unessential 
details,  such  as  the  use  of  lead  acetate  for  the  removal  of  inert  sub- 
stances, as  originally  advised  by  Holm  and  later  by  v.  Furth. 
1  First  paper,  Ther.  Gazette,  Vol.  XXV,  p.  221;  second  paper,  Am.  Jour. 
Pharm.,  Vol.  LXXIII,  p.  523. 
2  Am.  Jour.  Physiol.,  Vol.  V,  p.  457. 
