290  Medical  and  Pharmaceutical  Notes.  ^^^'192 
MEDICAL  AND  PHARMACEUTICAL 
NOTES 
Adulteration  of  Gum  Tragacanth  With  Gum  Arabic  :  L. 
Thevenon.  (Ann.  Falsify  1920,  13,  489.) — Powdered  gum  traga- 
canth is  sometimes  adulterated  with  the  cheaper  gum  arabic.  The 
presence  of  the  latter  may  be  detected  by  treating  a  portion  of  the 
sample  mixed  with  water  with  an  equal  volume  of  4  per  cent, 
pyramidon  (dimethylaminophenyldimethylpyrazolone)  solution,  and 
then  adding  10  drops  of  hydrogen  peroxide  (12  vol.).  A  blue- 
violet  coloration  develops  within  five  to  thirty  minutes,  according 
to  the  quantity  of  gum  arabic  present.  The  test  will  detect  as  little 
as  1  part  of  gum  arabic  in  20  parts  of  gum  tragacanth.  (Through 
The  Analyst,  February,  192 1.) 
Reserves  of  Vitamins  in  the  Organism. — Lumiere  presents 
arguments  against  the  assumption  of  reserves  of  vitamins,  and  in 
favor  of  his  view  that  the  vitamins  act  by  stimulating  the  digestive 
glands.  When  deprived  of  vitamins,  the  digestive  glands  cease  to 
function  more  or  less  completely.  They  may  continue  to  function 
for  a  little  time — which  has  erroneously  led  to  assumption  of 
reserves  of  vitamins.  The  prompt  recuperation  when  vitamins  are 
resupplied  after  the  deficiency  disease  has  developed,  is  further 
testimony  of  their  stimulating  action  on  the  digestive  glands  as  the 
latter  start  at  once  to  function  anew.  No  other  explanation  fits 
with  the  promptness  of  this  recuperation.  One  of  his  arguments 
refers  to  the  special  task  of  the  cerebellum  in  birds  as  controlling 
orientation  in  flight.  This  special  development  of  the  cerebellum 
requires  an  extra  amount  of  nourishment  for  it.  When  the  nour- 
ishment is  shut  off  by  lack  of  vitamins,  the  cerebellum  suffers  first 
and  foremost  from  this  lack  of  nourishment,  so  that  the  cerebellar 
symptoms  are  the  first  and  predominant  ones  to  appear.  (Paris 
Medical,  December  18,  1920,  through  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Asoc, 
February  19,  192 1.) 
The  Sterilization  of  Instruments. — Rebula  states  that  in 
many  tsxt  books  on  surgery  instructions  for  the  sterilization  of 
instruments  read  somewhat  as  follows:  "Instruments  may  be  ster- 
ilized by  boiling  in  a  1  per  cent,  soda  solution,  which  also  prevents 
