116 Lecithin. I 
Hydrolysis of Hydrolecithin. 
A large quantity (200 gm.) of hydrolecithin was prepared for 
the purpose of studying its hydrolytic products. This analyzed 
as follows: 
Sample. re! H N P NH:—N 
508 65.50 Peso 1.80 3.90 20.00 
100 gm. of this material were hydrolyzed by boiling with 1 
liter of 3 per cent suJfuric acid for 8 hours.” 
The fatty acid fraction was filtered off and recrystallized from 
acetone, after boving about 2 hours with animal charcoal. Again 
recrystallized from acetone, the acid melted at 69-70°, and on 
combustion and titration gave figures for stearic acid. This con- 
firms Ritter’s observation that it is possible to obtain pure 
distearylhydrolecithin. 
The aqueous filtrate was freed from sulfutic acid by the addition 
of barium hydroxide, concentrated 7m vacuo, precipitated with 
basic lead acetate, the filtrate freed from lead, and used for the 
determination of aminoethyl alcohol according to Thierfelder and 
Schulze. The ethereal extract was concentrated, taken up in 
water, and the amino nitrogen determined. The theoretical 
amount of gold chloride was added to the acidified solution. The 
gold salt separated as long needles after standing 2 days in a 
desiccator over sulfuric acid. It melts at 184-186°. ‘Trier’* 
gives 186-187° for the gold chloride salt of aminoethyl alcohol 
122 Thierfelder, H., and Schulze, O., Z. physiol. Chem., 1916, xevi, 
296. 
This method depends upon the fact that calcium oxide does not liberate 
choline from its hydrochloride, but does free aminoethyl alcohol. The 
concentrated solution of the mixed hydrochlorides is rubbed up with 
pure calcium oxide until it is a dry powder and extracted with ether in a 
Soxhlet apparatus; the flask should contain 0.1 N sulfuric acid to bind the 
base, otherwise considerable loss occurs. After 27 hours about 96 per 
cent of the alcohol has been extracted by the ether. The choline may 
then be extracted with hot alcohol. 
138 Trier, G., Z. physiol. Chem., 1911, 1xxiii, 383; 1911-12, Ixxvi, 496. 
