Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - I. General and Physico-chemical - IV. Enzymes
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
46 GENERAL AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL.
(Blum !
) by means of autolysis, we can consider this autolysis as a
remedy and perhaps also as a protective agent for the animal body.
In this connection the investigations of Billard 2
must be mentioned
where the autolytic fluid from the pig liver was strongly antitoxic
toward viper poison, cobra poison, tetanus toxin and also toward
cocaine, curare and strychnin.
As above stated, the chemical processes in animals and plants do
not stand in opposition to each other; they offer differences indeed,
but still they are of the same kind from a qualitative standpoint. Pflu-
ger believes that there exists a blood-relation between all living cells
of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and that they originate from the
same root. The animal body is a complexity of cells, hence study of the
chemical processes must not only be made upon higher plants, but also
upon unicellular organisms in order that we get a proper explanation
of the chemical processes in the animal organism. Although a bio-
chemical study of the micro-organisms is very important, we must bear
in mind also the important role played by such organisms in animal
life, chiefly as exciters of disease; hence the study of the conditions of
life of these micro-organisms and the chemical investigation of the prod-
ucts produced by them must be of infinite importance.
If in the autolysis of animal tissues micro-organisms are added and
if no antiseptic is present which prevents their development, then they
increase abundantly because of the favorable conditions for development.
At the same time the enzymes are also formed to a great extent and by
whose aid the exchange of matter takes place in the bacteria. It follows
that many chemical processes occur depending upon the kind of bacteria
present and which are foreign to bacteria-free autolysis. The entire
process has been called putrefaction. Among the products formed we
will mention the sulphureted hydrogen, indol and skatol which chiefly
give the odor to putrefying proteins. In regard to other putrefactive prod-
ucts we refer to Chapter VIII. Under ordinary circumstances compounds
of a basic nature may also be produced by putrefaction. To this class
belong the cadaver alkaloids called ptomaines, first found by Selmi in
human cadavers and then specially studied by Brieger and Gautier.3
Certain of these are poisonous, designated as toxines, while others are
non-poisonous. They all belong to the aliphatic compounds and gen-
erally do not contain oxygen. As an example of these basic substances
Hofmeister’s Beitrage, 5, p. 142.
2
Cornpt. rend. 8oc. Biol., 70, 623 (1911).
:’
Selmi, Sulle ptomaine od alcaloidi cadaverici e loro importanza in tossicologia,
Bologna, 1878; Ber. d. d. chem. Gesellsch., 11, Correspond, by H. Schiff; Brieger,
Ueber Ptomaine, Parte 1, 2, and 3, Berlin, 1885-1886; A. Gautier, Traits de chimie
ppliquee a la physiologic, 2, 1873, and Compt. rend., 94.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
