THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
NOVEMBER,  igoi. 
ADRENALIN  THE  ACTIVE  PRINCIPLE  OF  THE  SUPRA- 
RENAL GLANDS  AND  ITS  MODE  OF  PREPARATION. 
By  Dr.  Jokichi  Takamine. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  a  good  many  of  you  present  have  read  an 
account  of  adrenalin,  and  some  of  you  no  doubt  have  used  it. 
Inasmuch  as,  however,  this  is  the  first  time  the  active  principle  of 
the  suprarenal  glands  was  isolated  in  a  commercial  scale,  and  such 
might  lead  to  the  isolation  of  the  active  principle  of  other  interest- 
ing glands,  I  venture  to  submit  before  you  a  brief  sketch  as  far  as 
investigation  has  gone. 
Forty-six  years  ago,  Adison  first  observed  the  certain  changes  of 
the  suprarenal  glands  and  their  relationships  to  the  disease  now 
bearing  his  name.  Oliver  and  Schafer's  work  on  the  physiological 
action  of  the  glandular  extract,  was  soon  followed  by  Scymonowicz, 
Cybulski,  and  later  by  many  others.  The  suprarenal  therapy  has 
since  become,  not  only  a  subject  of  scientific  interest,  but  has  suc- 
cessfully been  applied  in  various  branches  of  medical  practice. 
Marvelous  therapeutic  value  of  the  suprarenal  extract  has  now  been 
established  and  proved  beyond  all  doubts. 
As  the  use  of  suprarenal  extract  increased,  a  keen  desire  to 
obtain  its  active  ingredient  in  pure  state  was  generally  felt  by 
medical  practitioners,  for  reasons  that  the  said  extract  is  prone 
to  deteriorate  very  rapidly  and  hence  the  necessity  of  preparing 
fresh  each  time  before  use. 
Many  able  chemists  turned  their  attention  toward  isolation  of  the 
active  principle,  desiring  it  might  become  a  very  useful  agent  in 
therapeutics.    So  far  as  chemical  nature  is  concerned,  but  a  little 
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