i . 50 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS. Physiological Chemistry. The Sugar of the Blood. S. GUTNANN and 0. ADLER (Bioc~hc11~. Zeitsch. 1917 83 11-17).-The proteins of tlie blood were pre- cipitated by Schenk’s method and the reducing action (on copper solutions) of the protein-free blood was determined in the filtrate directly and after heating with 2.2% hydrochloric acid. No difference was found in the two sets of estimations whence the conclusion is drawn that the blood contains no polysaccharides. Neither were polysaccliarides t o be detected when ordinary starch was added to blood which was then rendered protein-free by Schenk’s method. I n the case where soluble starch was added how- ever the reduction was greater after hydrolysis. S. B. S. Residual Reducing Power of the Blood.0. ScHuazni (Zeitsch. physiol. Chem. 1917 100 215-220).-PoIemical against Griesbach and Strassner (see A. 1917 i 491). H. W. B. A New Ferment of the Leucocytes of Blood and Pus Lipoidase. NOEL FIESSINGER and R E N ~ CLOGNE (Compt. rend. 1917 165 730-732).-The leucocytes of blood and of acute sup- puratdon have the property of secreting an enzyme capable of hydrolysing lecithin in feebly alkaline solution. The enzyme is destroyed by heating a t 56-60° in half an hour and does not’ act in strongly acid or alkaline solution. The red corpuscles in large quan- tity and apparently normal serum exert an inhibitory action on the enzyme. This lipoidase is distinguished by its thermoIabiIity from the lipase occurring in the leucocytes. W. G. The Presence of Phosphates in Human Blood Serum.11. Acid Soluble (Total) Phosphorus pre-existing Ortho- phosphoric Acid and Residual ” Phosphorus in Normal Cases. JOH. FEIGL (Biochem. Zeitsch. 1917 83 81-95. Compare A. 1917 i 520).-The difference between the acid-soluble phos- phorus and the orthophosphoric acid which can be estimated directly in the serum is called the residual phosphorus. I n the sera of healthy individuals i t amounts generally to more than 0.5 mg. per 100 C.C. of serum or 15% of the total acid-soluble phosphorus. The amount is subcject to variations. S. B. S. Estimation of Small Amounts of Calcium particularly in Blood. JOHN 0. HALVERSON and OLAF BERGEIM (J. Bz‘ol. Chenz. 1917 32 159-170. Compare A. 1916 ii 270).-Full details are given of tho method previously described.Normal serum contains about 10 mg. of calcium in 100 C.C. of serum. The amount of calcium in human milk varies between 27 and 33 mg. per 100 C.U. B. w. B.PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. i. 51 Calcium Content of the Blood-serum in certain Patho- logical Conditions. JOHN 0. HALVERSON HENRY K. MOHLER and OLAF BERGEIM ( J . B i d . Chem. 1917 32 171-179. Compare pre- ceding abstract).. -In nearly all pathological conditions tJhe amount of' calcium in the blood-serum does not differ appreciably from that found in health. Slight decreases are observed in some cases of urxmia eclampsia and pneumonia. H. W. R. Diffusion of Electrolytes through the Membranes of Living Cells. V. Additive Effect of Salt and Base and the Antagonistic Effect of Salt and Acid. JACQUES L o E B (J.BioZ. Clhern. 1917 32 147-158. Compare A 1917 i 102).-Tlie author has previously shown that the effects of the addition of ,z second salt on the diffusion of potassium salts through the mem- branes of Fundzilus eggs are analogous to the effects of salts on globulins which are insoluble in water soluble in a moderate con- centration and insoluble again in a very high concentration of salt. It is suggested that the! diffusion of potassium salts is dependent therefore on t.he solution of a certain constituent of the membrane with properties resembling those of a globulin. This hypothesis is supported by the analogy which is now shown t o exist between the effects of salt on the action of acids and bases in the case of the membrane of the k'u?zduZus egg and in that of globulins respec- tively.When Fundulus eggs are put into solutions of bases not suffi- ciently concentrated to injure the embryo the bases become injuri- ous when neutral salts in low concentrations are added. An addi- tive effect of salt and base is observed also a t higher concentrations of the base. On the other hand the addition of a neutral salt to an acid which kills rapidly the embryo of Fundulus eggs produces an antagonistic effect which is also observed f o r lower concentra- tions of acids. T'he minimal quantity of a salt required for these effects diminishes with an increase in the valency of both anion and cation of the salt. By comparing the effects on the egg with those on the newly-hatched embryo it is shown that these additive and antagonistic effects are due in the case of the egg of Fundulus to an influence of the salt on the rate of diffusion of alkali and acid through the membrane of the egg accelerating the diffusion of alkali and retarding the diffusion of acid.Since therefore salts increase the rate of diffusion of certain electrolytes through the membrane of the egg of Fundulus when they are also able to dissolve globulins and they retard or inhibit the diffusion when they are likely t80 prevent the solution of globulins i t is probable that the substance in the membrane on which the diffusion of electrolytes depends is a globulin. H. W. B. Cholesterol in Animal Organs. I. LIFSCH~~TZ (Biochenz. Zeitsch. 1917 83 18-~7).-Cholesterol was prepared from ox- brain in the usual manner and sufficient digitonin was added t o the alcoholic solution to precipitate about onethird to one-half ofi.52 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS. the cholesterol. From this precipitate the ordinary cholesterol could be isolated by Windaus's method. The filtrate from the digitonin-cholesterol compound yielded however a cholesterol which crystallised in an elliptical form and melted after repeated recrystallisations from ethyl and methyl alcohols a t 139-141° or 5O below the m. p. of the ordinary form. From ox-blood cholesterol was also prepared and this consisted chiefly of the substance with elliptical form (m. p. 139-141°) from which the acetate (m. p. 109-110°) was prepared. The latter melts about 4O below the aoetate of the ordinary cholesterol. The cholesterol of tlhe organs mostly concerned in the resorption of fat consists for the greatest part' of ordinary (rhombic) cholesterol whereas the cholesterol of the kidneys is almost exclusively of the elliptical form.S. B. S. Metabolism of Sugar in the Central Nervous System. ELSE HIRSCHBERG and HANS WINTERSTEIN (Zeitsch physiol. Chem. 1917 100 185-202).-When the spinal cords of frogs are placed in a saline solution containing dextrose. and oxygen is bubbled through the solution the dextrose gradually disappears. I n the absence of the spinal cords the dextrose content of the solution remains unchanged. The nerve tissue is therefore capable of inducing glycolysis. The membranes surrounding the spinal cord appear to be impermeable to dextrose because the glycolysis becomes more pronounced when the membranes are removed before placing in the dextrosesaline solution.In these circumstances a t the ordinary temperatare from 4 t o 5 mg. of dextrose per 1 gram of cord disappear in twenty-four hours. The glycolysis varies with the temperature and gradually declines throughout the ex- periment being no longer recognisable after the second day. The latt'er observation indicates that the results cannot be attributed to bacterial actdon. Lack of oxygen rapidly causes an irreversible decline in the glycolysis; alcohol ethyl carbamate and also a trace of a soluble calcium salt (0.1% calcium chloride) lomer the glyco- lysis but after the removal of the inhibiting agent it rapidly returns to its former level. Electrical stimulation of the tissue evokes a great acceleration of the rate of disappearance of the dextrose which reaches twice the normal value.If the spinal cords are reduced to a fine state of division the r a k of glycolysis is markedly increased presumably on account of the increased surface of contact between tissue and dextrose solution. It is a function of the living tissue; the boiled material does not induce any glycolysis. The consumption of dextrose by the minced spinal cord is influenced in the same way as in the case of the intact organ by the various factors above described with the exception that' electrical stimulation does not evoke any increase in glycolysis after the normal structure of the tissue has been destroyed. H. W. B.PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. i. 53 The Carbohydrate Metabolism in the Surviving Liver of the Dog.J. ABELIN and J. MA. DE CORRAL (Bzoclienz. Zeztsch. 1917 83 62-73).-Although ths perfusion of peptone solution has no influence on the glycogen content of the liver of a rabbit. it diminishes the amount of this carbohydrate in the liver of the dog. Perfusion of adrenaline is without actioii on the glycogen degradation in the livers both of the rabbit and the dog. S. B. S. Biological Analysis of Diets Producing Pellagra. 11. Minimum Requirements of the two Unidentified Dietary Factors for Maintenance as contrasted with Growth. E. V. MCCOLLUM and N. SIMMONDS ( J . Bio2. Chem. 1917 32 181-194) .-The authors describe feeding experiments on rats in which the relative and absolute quantities of the two factors (‘fat- soluble A ” and “water-soluble B,” in the diet are varied.The former factor is contributed in the form of butter-fat and the latter in wheat-germ and it is found that 1% of each of these factors in the diet is just sufficient to maintain the weight of adult rats. I n these circumstances however the life of the animal is uncertain and the rats may die unexpectedly without any apparently sufficient cause. The life of young rats may be main- tained for considerable periods without growth when minimum amounts of the two factors are present and subsequently growth may occur in proportion to the increased amounts of the factors administered. The extent of growth depends on the amount of that factor which is present in relatively the smaller proportion ; in other words increased growth after an increased proportion of “fatrsoluble A ” does not occur unless the amount of “water- soluble B ” is increased t o a corresponding extent. The results are illustrated by numerous charts.H. W. B. The Significance of the so-called Steric Hindrance ” in Biological Processes. I. The Influence of the Methyl Group in the Ring. OSKAR BAUDISCH and FRANZ KLAUS (Bzochein. Xeitsch. 1917 83 6-lO).-Attention is directed to the fact that subst’ances containing a methyl group are less reactive biologically than the corresponding substances without this group. The state- ment is illustrated by reference to the therapeutic action of the rosaniline dyes of acridine-yellow and trypoflavin and of atoxyl and its methyl derivatives. I n all cases the more methyl groups a substance contains the smaller its therapeutic activity. Other instances quoted are the differences between crystal-violet and new- magenta when used as stains by Gram’s method and the differences between chrysarobin and cignolin (non-methylated substance) when employed according t o Unna for the treatment of psoriasis. S. B. S.