The chemistry of the bark of Robina pseud-acacia, Linné (false acacia or common locust) / by Frederick B. Power.

  • Frederick Belding Power
Date:
[1901]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The chemistry of the bark of Robina pseud-acacia, Linné (false acacia or common locust) / by Frederick B. Power. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Hoppe-Seyler, it was stated that “ it would appear to be cor¬ rectly and conveniently designated as a phyt-albumose.” In the former publication some of the general chemical cha¬ racters of this proteid were described, and its extremely poison¬ ous action—manifested by severe and prolonged attacks of vomiting and purging—was also fully and satisfactorily estab¬ lished by experiments upon myself and by my assistant, Mr. Cambier, as well as upon animals. It was likewise shown that the proteid, which was extracted from the bark by cold water, is coagulated by heat, and that its toxic properties thereby become completely destroyed. This served to explain why in some of the preliminary experiments for the isolation of the poisonous principle a considerable amount of an extract of the bark, prepared by the aid of heat, could be taken by us with¬ out any ill-effects. The isolation of the poisonous proteid seemed furthermore of particular interest, inasmuch as it was believed to be the first, and is as yet, apparently, the only recorded observation of the occurrence of such a body in a bark, the other allied substances, such as ricin, abrin, and crotin, being found in the seeds of the respective plants. With the advance in knowledge of the proteid substances it seemed to me desirable to again take up this investigation, and at the same time to examine more closely the other constituents of the bark. The present publication, fortunately, also affords an oppor¬ tunity of considering some statements in recent German litera¬ ture pertaining to this subject, from which it would appear that the results of my previous investigation have been to some extent overlooked, and that incorrect deductions have thereby been formed. My attention was first directed to this by a short communication from Professor Kobert to the Apotheker Zeitung of May 25, 1901, p. 365, with reference to a note published a short time previously by Professor E. Schmidt (loc. cit., 1901, p. 357) on “Robinin”—a name given in 1861 by Zwenger and Dronke to a colouring matter obtained by them from the flowers of Robinia Pseud-acacia. An abstract of Professor Robert’s observations may be given in the follow¬ ing translation:—“It appears to me in the interest of your readers to point out that in medical literature the word Robinin has hitherto been used in another sense. In a few days there will appear in Rostock a dissertation of my pupil, Dr. Carl Lau, ‘ Ueber vegetabilische Blutagglutinine,’ in which there will be a report on the Robinin of medical authors and a proposal to change the name of this to Robin, since it possesses an action very similar to abrin, ricin, and crotin, but weaker
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