120 
Current  Literature. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
<-   February,  19 19. 
too  delicate  for  clinical  use.  (Reprinted  from  The  Prescriber,  Au- 
gust, 1918.) 
Conversion  of  Cocaine  Into  New,  Physiologically  Sub- 
stances.— By  a  chemical  procedure  the  functional  elements  of  co- 
caine are  rearranged  to  yield  two  new  active  substances  :  (I)  "My- 
driasin,"  as  strong  a  mydriatic  and  anaesthetic  as  atropine,  chemically 
/C,H\ 
CH2     I     CH.CO2C2H5  CH: 
N  1— CH2.CH2.CH2.0.CO.C6H5 
CH2 
I 
CH2  CH2 
I. 
I  CH.C02C2H5 
N  1— CH2.CH2.O.CO.C6H5 
CH 
CH 
CH' 
II. 
benzoyloxypropylnorhydroecgonidine  ester;  and  (II)  "  Ekkain,"  a 
stronger  anaesthetic  than  cocaine,  non-toxic,  and  sterilizable.  Chem- 
ically it  is  N-benzoyloxypropylnorecgonidine  ester.  It  is  an  oily 
compound  whose  hydrochloride  melts  at  1170  and  is  easily  soluble  in 
water,  less  so  in  alcohol.  (J.  v.  Braun  and  E.  Miiller,  Ber.  d.  d. 
chem.  Ges.,  v.  51,  pp.  235-252,  1918.) 
J.  F.  C. 
The  Casein  of  Human  Milk. — Analysis  of  the  casein  of  human 
milk  yielded  the  following  figures:  Nitrogen,  15.75  per  cent.;  phos- 
phorus, 0.70  per  cent. ;  sulphur,  0.70  per  cent.  From  its  combina- 
tion with  bases  the  molecular  weight  was  calculated  to  be  8,888  and 
its  valence  8.  It  was  found  to  resemble  the  casein  from  the  milk  of 
the  cow  and  of  the  goat.  Rennin  produces  a  paracasein  from  it 
similar  to  the  paracasein  from  cow's  milk.  (A.  W.  Bosworth  and 
Louise  A.  Giblin,  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  v.  35,  pp.  11 5-1 17,  1918.) 
J.  F.  C 
The  Preparation  of  Pure  Casein. — Casein  in  pure  form,  free 
from  inorganic  phosphorus,  calcium,  and  hydrolytic  products,  is  pre- 
pared by  treating  undiluted  milk  with  normal  acid,  preferably  lactic 
or  a  mixture  of  1  part  of  hydrochloric  and  2  parts  acetic.  The  acid 
is  introduced  slowly  into  the  undiluted  milk  below  the  surface,  the 
tip  of  the  tube  carrying  the  acid  into  the  milk  being  so  arranged  that 
it  is  very  close  to  a  mechanical  stirrer  revolving  at  high  speed  and 
