28 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS. Physiological Chemistry. Autodigestion of the Pancreas. By S. PFORRINGER (Vi~chow’s h c h i v , 1899,158, 126--147j.-Previous authors have called attention to the possibility of self-digestion being a cause of pancreatic cysts and necroses. Chiari (Zeit. IIeiZk, 1896, IT), in particular, has directed attention to the fact that the pancreas is often found partially digested after death, and he considers that this may begin in the last hours of life. The present investigation confirms Chiari’s views; it contains records of a hundred autopsies ; the pancreas was examined microscopically, and evidence of digestive necrosis was found in forty- five, and this was very marked in eleven cases. The conditions of the patients (age, disease, &c.) appear to be as varied where such necrosis is found as in those cases where it is not found.By D. LAWROFF (Zeit. physiol. Chem., 1899, 28, 303--306).-The presence of arginine is helpful to the tryptic digestion of proteid. This appears to be connected with its alkalinity; an equivalent amount of sodium carbonate acts similarly. Arginine, like sodium carbonate, aids the W. D. H. Action of Arginine on the Tryptic Digestion of Proteid.PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 29 emulsification of fats; excess of arginine, as OF sodium carbonate, is harmful. W. D. H. The Fluorine in Tootb- and Bone-ash. By HEINRICH HARMS (Zeit. Biol., 1899, 38, 487-498).-Fresenius’ method with certain small modifications is well adapted for the detection of quite minimal quantities of fluorine.The amount of fluorine in bones and teeth as given by Carnot, T. Wilson, and Gabriel is much too great. The amount varies from 0.022 to 0.005 per cent. The variations in the amount of fluorine, as compared with the other constituents of the ash, which are fairly constant, show that the fluorine is not chemically combined with these, but is rather an accessory constituent ; this view is confirmed by the presence in the bone of microscopic crystals of calcium fluoride. W. D. H. Composition of the Cartilage of the Shark. By GUSTAV VON BUNGE (Zeit. physiol. Chem., 1899, 28, 300--302).-The cartilage removed from the fish Scymnus borealis, which had been packed in ice, gave the following analytical results: water, 92.8 per cent. ; organic material, 5.9 ; inorganic material, 1 *3.Of the inorganic material, sodium and chlorine were the most abundant constituents ; details are also given of the other inorganic constituents. Petersen and Soxhlet (J. pr. Chenz., 1873, [ii], ‘7, 181) state t h a t the fresh cartilage contains 16.7 per cent. of sodium chloride; their specimen, however, had been packed in salt. Substances present in the Liver which are converted into Sugar by Acids. By JOSEF SEEGER (Chent. Centr., 1899, ii, 58; from Centr. Physiol., 13, 115-120. Compare Abstr., 1898, i, 619).- After liver-extract has been heated with hydrochloric acid, more sugar is found than corresponds with the sugar and glycogen contained in the extract. The substance prepared from liver- extract by means of 90 per cent. alcohol contains nitrogen, reduces alkaline copper solutions, and, when heated with acids! yields a sugar with reducing properties, but the quantity so obtained is far too little to account for the excess of sugar formed from the extract by acid, hence the liver must contain yet another compound which is easily converted into sugar.The carbohydrate groups of the albumin are supposed to be affected by the action of the liver in such a way that they easily form sugar by the action of hydrochloric acid. W. D. H. E. W. W. Amount of Urea in the Liver. By RUDOLF GOTTLIEB (Chem. Centr., 1899, i, 1298 ; from Arch. expt. Path. Phcc~m., 42,238-249)- See this vol., ii, 57. Human Bile. Ey RICHARD PON ZEYNEK (Chew,. Centr., 1899, ii, 213-214 ; from Tien. klin. Tach,, 12, 568-569).-The quantity of bile secreted in a day amounts to 300-400 grams, containing 7-12 grams of solid matter ; it is strongly alkaline, and has a sp.gr. 1.011-1.012. The bile pigments are completely precipitated by basic30 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS. lead acetate, but only partially by the normal salt ; the bile acids, mucin, and the colouring matter are throtvn down by saturating with ammonium sulphate. Only a slight precipitate is formed by super- saturating with magnesium sulphate. Hydrochloric or sulphuric acid gives an amorphous precipitate and the liquid becomes deep green and gradually deposits the bile acids. Bile gives a yellow coloration with alkalis ; this is shown best by samples which have become of a greenish tinge by exposure to the air. The precipitate obtained by means of alcohol, when rubbed with glycerol, is capable of converting starch into sugar, but does not digest albumin.The bile secreted by the patient during each hour of a day was examined and found to be of a sp. gr. 1.011 and to contain in 1000 parts, 21.88 of solids, 2.39 of mucin, 13.8 of alkali salts of the bile acids, 8.96 of soluble salts, and 0.23 of insoluble salts. Another sample had a sp. gr. 1.012 and yielded 30.76 of solids, 2.087 of mucin, 18.31 of alkali salts of the bile acids, 0.7'8 of lecithin, 2.307 of cholesterol and fat, 9.10 of soluble salts, 0.31 of insoluble salts, 0.054 of ammonia and trimethyl- amine, and 2.087 of acid ethereal extract, On one day when 336.73 grams of bile were secreted, the solid residue amounted to 10.69 grams ; the amounts of the former per hour varied from 2.01 to 30.25 grams, and of the latter from 0.054 to 0.99 gram, The ash is principally made up of sodium chloride, the insoluble portion containing traces of iron and copper.By adding zinc chloride and excess of ammonia to a very dilute aqueous solution of bile, a green coloration is formed in +--l hour, and the liquid shows a characteristic band in the red part of the spectrum about 650 p p wave-length. Human urine containing bile pigments and bilirubin also give this reaction. E. W. W. Degradation of Caffeine in the Organism of the Dog. By MARTIN KRUGER (Bey., 1899, 32, 2818--2824).--On administering 50.5 grams of caffeine during a period of 20 days to a dog which was fed exclusively on flesh, there was found in the urine excreted during this period 7.4 grams of 4 : 6-dimethylxanthine (theophylline), 6.6 grams of unchanged caffeine, 4.6 1 grams of 4-methylxanthine, 1.9 grams of 1 : 4-dimethylxanthine (theobromine), and about the same quantity of 1 : 6-dimethylxanthine (paraxanthine)-per 100 grams of caffeine orginally administered.For the method of separation adopted, the original paper should be coneulted. The results obtained show that all three methyl gpoups of caffeine are attacked simultaneously, and that the group in position 1 offers least resistance to elimination ; so that theophylline is the principal initial degradation product of caffeine, just as 4-methylxanthine is the principal product in the case of theobromine (Kriiger and Schmidt, following abstract).The small quantity of theobromine obtained, taken in conjunction with Kriiger and Schmidt's results, explains why heteroxanthine (1-methylxanthine) is not formed by the degradation of caffeine, and suggests that the 4-methylxanthine isolated owes its origin to theophylline rather than t o theobromine. It is pointed out that theophylline and theobromine have hitherto never been isolated in the animal organism, but only from plant extracts. W. A. D.PHY SIOLOGIICAL CHEMISTRY 31 Decomposition of Theobrornine, Paraxanthine, and 4-Me thy1 - xanthine in the Animal Organism. By MARTIN KRUGER and PAUL SCHMIDT (Ber., 1899, 32, 2677-2682, Compare Albanese, Abstr., 1S99, ii, 777).-Bondzynski and Gottlieb’s experiments (Abstr., 1895, i, 434) have been repeated. Theobromine, when introduced into the bodies of dogs or rabbits, is excreted in the urine partly iu an unaltered condition, but mainly as 1- and 4-mcthylxanthine. Para- xanthine is converted in the body of rabbits into 6-methylxnnthine, identical with that found in human urine.Neither 1-methylxanthine nor xanthine could be isolated. Although theobromine is converted into 1-methylxanthine in the animal system, attempts t o obtain xanthine from 4-methylxsnthine were abortive. The separation of the purine derivatives from urea was accomplished by precipitating them with sodium hydrogen sulphite and copper sulphate ; the purine derivatives obtained from the copper precipitate were treated with manganese peroxide in dilute acetic acid solution in order to destroy uric-acid (compare Abstr., lS9S, i, 699).J. J. S. Intestinal Absorption and Saline Cathartics. By GEORGE B. WALLACE and ARTHUR R. CUSHNY (PJiiger’s Archiv, 1899, ’7’7, 202-209. Compare Abstr., 1898, ii, 442).-Hober (ibid., ’74, 346) describes the absorption of saline solutions in the small intestine as depending on purely physical factors. This theory is opposed to the results previously published by the authors ; the present paper re- states their views, and adds some further confirmatory experiments, W. D. H. Passage into the Urine of Chloroform administered by Inhalation. By DIOSCORIDE VITALI (L’O~)’osi, 1899, 22, 145-14!3).- Prom the results of tests made on the urine of four patients before and after the administration of chloroform, the conclusion is drawn that chloroform does not pass into the urine.The presence in the urine of organic chlorine compounds produced from the chloroform could not be detected. T, H. P. By WACLAW VON MORACZEWSKI (PJEiigeim’s A r c h , 1 S99,77, 200-31 O).-The excreta from a number of normal fasting frogs kept in a clean vessel were collected, and in them the nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorine, ammonia, potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium were estimated. The results aregiven in full and compared with what occurs in frogs whose blood had been replaced by an iso-osmotic solution of sodium chloride; in these animals, which often live a considerable time, the metabolic changes are slow as evidenced by the reduction in the various substances excreted and mentioned above, When sodium nitrate is used instead, the amount of nitrogen is high from the ex- cretion of nitrates, but the amount of potassium and sodium is high also.Sodium acetate is more fatal. Sodium sulphate raises the excretion of nitrogen, but the other substances are diminished, as when sodium chloride is used. Excretion in Blood-free and in Fasting Frogs.32 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS, If a urea solution is substituted for the blood, there is a n increase in the excretion of nitrogen, and of some of the other substances also. If sugar solution is used, the frogs stand it exceedingly well ; all ex- cretion diminishes except that of calcium; this probably depends on the ready solubility of calcium phosphate in solutions of sugar. Frogs can stand considerable dilution of their blood without interference with nitrogenous metiabolism.Fat of Normal and of Degenerated Heart Muscle. By W. L~NDEMANN (Zeit. Biol., 1 S99, 38, 405-41 8).-The question always arises in connection with fatty degeneration, whether the fat is pro- duced from proteid in the cells, or whether it has been merely trans- ported from other parts and stored there. The comparison OF the heart-fat in cases of fatty degeneration, mostly from cases of anzemia, with that in normal hearts, and with that in other parts of the body, appears to support the former view. The following table summarises the resultsobtained : column 1 gives the acid number, coluinn 2 the saponification number; column 3 the iodine number, and column 4 the Reichert-Meissl number. W. D. H. 1. 2. 3. 4. Degeneration fat ............... 18.35 257.4 108.5 23.9 Normal heart fat ...............7.3 202.3 61.1 2.0 Kidney aiid subcutaneous f a t .., 3.76 201.8 70.8 0.9 The degeneration fat, in its high saponification number and large percentage of volatile fatty acids, resembles butter fat and the fat in the so-calleci tears of marine mammalia. [Physiological Action of] Acetonedicarboxylic Acid and Citric Acid. By LUIGI SABRATANI (Chem. Centr., 1899, ii, 22-23; from Atti Real. Accad. Tovino, 34).-Experiments on dogs and rabbits show that the stupefying effect of acetone is not shared by citric, acetone- dicarboxylic, or acetoacetic acids, which are only injurious in large doses. When acetonedicarboxylic acid is administered to healthy animals, it is partly decomposed in the stomach wi1,h liberation of carbon dioxide, but only very small quantities of acetone or of un- changed acid are found in the urine. Citric acid, under similar con- ditions, does not yield ketonic acids, or a t most traces which escape detection in the urine. Acetone may be separated from acetoacetic acid, et,hyl acetoacetate and acetonedicarboxylic acid by the following method. Insoluble bromine compounds, such as ethyl aa-dibromoacetate, pentabromo- acetone, &c., are precipitated from the urine acidified with sulphuric acid by adding a slight excess of bromine water and allowing the mixture to remain 12 hours. The acetone itself is not attacked, and is distilled from the filtrate after removing the excess of bromine by means of powdered iron. Its amount is then determined by means of Lieben's method of conversion into iodoform. The amount of acetone, together with that derived from the ketonic acids, is similarly estimated In the liquid obtained by directly distilling a second portion of the acidified urine. Acetoacetic acid cannot be separated from ethyl acetoacetate, or acetonedicarboxylic acid by this method. W. D. H. E. W. W.