17.6 
The  Response  of  Gums. 
j  Am.  Jour,  Pharni. 
t       April,  1911. 
THE  RESPONSE  OF  GUMS  AND  SIMILAR  SUBSTANCES 
TO  MOORE'S  REACTION. 
By  Torald  Sollmann 
From  the  Pharmacological  Laboratory  of  Western  Reserve  University, 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 
The  well-known  reaction  of  Moore  or  Heller  consists  in  the 
occurrence  of  a  yellow  to  dark  brown  color,  when  glucose  solution 
is  heated  with  KOH  or  NaOH.  The  reaction  also  occurs  at  ordin- 
ary temperature,  but  much  more  slowly. 
This  test,  which  was  introduced  in  1844  by  John  Moore  ^  and 
F.  Heller,  has  been  practically  displaced  by  other  sugar-tests.  It 
is  especially  unreliable  for  small  traces  of  sugar  in  colored  fluids. 
In  urine,  for  instance,  Rosenfeld  (Deutsche  medicin  Wochenschrift, 
1888,  p.  451)  failed  to  obtain  reliable  results  even  with  0.5  per  cent, 
of  glucose.  In  a  pure  solution,  the  test  is  very  much  more  delicate. 
In  my  hands,  even  o.oi  per  cent,  of  glucose  gave  a  faint  yellow 
color,  which,  however,  bleached  almost  completely  in  twenty-four 
hours.  A  2  per  cent,  solution  of  glucose  gave  a  mahogany  color, 
which  was  not  noticeably  changed  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  depth  of  color  is  also  determined  by  the  amount  of  free 
alkali.  Framm  (quoted  from  Neubauer  and  Vogel,  Analyse  des 
Harnes,  tenth  edition,  p.  100),  found  that  o.oi  per  cent,  of  dextrose 
gave  a  good  reaction  with  0.5  per  cent,  NaOH.  With  sodium 
carbonate  I  found  only  a  slight  degree  of  darkening. 
The  nature  of  the  reaction  and  of  the  products  formed  by  the 
decomposition  of  the  sugar  are  not  clearly  understood,  although 
they  have  been  the  subjects  of  careful  investigation  {Cf.  Neu- 
bauer &  Vogel,  I.e.)  ;  the  process  is  evidently  complex,  and  probably 
varies  with  the  conditions,  and  with  the  nature  of  the  substances 
employed. 
Aside  from  dextrose,  the  test  gives  positive  results  with  many 
other  carbohydrates.  According  to  Neubauer  &  Vogel  (/.  r, )  and 
Hammarsten  (Lehrbuch  dcr  Physiologischcn  Chcinie),  it  is  given 
^  I  may  take  this  occasion  to  correct  some  curious  errors  in  citations  of 
Moore's  original  paper.  Neubauer  and  Vogel,  and  Marck's  Reagentien 
Verzeichniss  both  give  a  wrong  reference,  namely  The  Lancet,  ii,  Sept.  26, 
1844;  after  considerable  search  we  located  it  in  The  Lancet,  ii,  Sept.  14,  1844, 
p.  751;  even  the  index  of  The  Lancet  gives  the  wrong  page  (75)  ! 
