Anoctober,^898!m'}    Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  525 
INFLUENCE  OF  THE  ORGANISM  ON  TOXINS. 
E.  Metchnikoff  concludes  (in  Ann.  Inst.  Pasteur,  xi,  p.  801)  that 
plants  such  as  bacteria  and  fungi  can  destroy  toxins  and  transform 
them  into  vaccines  without  producing-  an  antitoxin ;  that  the  inver- 
tebrates are  capable  of  producing  a  tetanic  antitoxin  in  appreciable 
quantities;  that  the  production  of  antitoxins  begins  in  the  animal 
series  with  the  crocodiles,  where  the  power  is  more  highly  devel- 
oped than  in  the  higher  animals;  that  the  antitoxic  power  is  not  to 
be  considered  as  bound  to  any  febril  reaction  whatever ;  that  the 
antitoxic  property  of  the  fowl  is  in  the  blood ;  that  it  is  not  possible 
to  accept  the  idea  that  natural  immunity  depends  on  the  antitoxic 
power,  and  that  the  antitoxic  property  in  the  animal  kingdom  has 
an  evolution  less  ancient  than  the  phagocytic  reaction. 
THE  CARBONYL  FIGURE  IN  ESTIMATION  OF  RESINS. 
M.  Kitt  {Chem.  Zeit.,  1898,  p.  358)  proposes  to  apply  the  method 
of  Strache  {Ibid.,  1891,  p.  1207),  used  by  him  in  the  determination 
of  the  carbonyl  oxygen  of  aldehydes  and  ketones,  to  the  analysis  of 
the  resins.  The  resin  to  be  examined  is  treated  with  acetate  of  soda 
and  20  c.c.  of  a  5  per  cent,  alcoholic  solution  of  phenyl  hydrazin- 
chlorhydrate,  whereby  there  is  formed  with  the  hydrazin  salt  a 
hydrazone  compound.  The  excess  of  hydrazin  salt  that  is  taken  is 
obtained  by  oxidizing  the  excess  with  a  hot  Fehling's  solution  and 
measuring  the  nitrogen  given  off.  A  check  test  with  the  hydrazin 
solution  alone  is  made,  and  the  difference  between  the  two  gives  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  given  off  in  the  reaction.  The  carbonyl  figure, 
i.  e.%  the  per  cent,  of  carbonyl  oxygen  of  the  substance  is  obtained 
from  the  formula : 
Per  cent.  O  =  (V  —  VG)  °'°^7S  9. 
The  V  —  VQ  is  the  difference  in  volume  of  the  nitrogen  calculated 
to  o°  and  760  millimetres  pressure,  and  S  is  the  amount  of  sub- 
stance taken  in  grammes. 
CONSTITUENTS  OF  LICORICE. 
A.  Tschirch  has  carried  out  some  investigations  on  glycyrrhiza 
root  (Schweiz.  Woch.  f.  Chem.  u.  Pharm,.,  1898,  189),  and  he  finds 
three  substances,  viz.:  glycyrrhizin,  mannit  and  a  sugar,  which  he 
did  not  succeed  in  crystallizing.    He  obtained  2-5  per  cent,  of  pure 
