Cellular toxins, or, The chemical factors in the causation of disease / by Victor C. Vaughan and Frederick G. Novy.

  • Vaughan, Victor C. (Victor Clarence), 1851-1929.
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Cellular toxins, or, The chemical factors in the causation of disease / by Victor C. Vaughan and Frederick G. Novy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    CHAPTER 11. CLASSIFICATION AND DEFINITION OF THE CHEMICAL PRODUCTS OF BACTERIA. Ptomains. While an exact classification of the chemical products of bacterial growth cannot be made at present, we know of two dis- tinct classes, one of which contains substances which combine with acids forming salts, and which in this respect at least corresponds with the inorganic and vegetable bases. The members of this class are designated as ptomains, a name suggested by the Italian toxicologist Selmi, and derived from the Greek word ;rrw//a meaning a cadaver, A ptomain may be defined as an organic chemical com- pound, basic in character, and formed by the action of bacteria on nitrogenous matter. On account of their basic properties, in which they resemble the vegetable alkaloids, ptomains may be called putre- factive alkaloids. They have also been designated as animal alka- loids, but this is a misnomer, because, in the first place, some of them are formed in the putrefaction of vegetable matter; and, in the second place, the term animal alkaloid is more properly restricted to the leucomains—those basic substances which result from tissue metabo- . lism in the body. Kobert employs the term ptomatin as etymolog- ically preferable to ptomain. While some of the ptomains are highly poisonous, this is not an essential property, and others are wholly inert. Indeed, the greater number of those which have been isolated do not, when employed in single doses, produce any apparent harmful effects. Brieger has sug- gested that the term ptomain be restricted to the non-poisonous basic products, and he designates the poisonous ones as toxins ; how- ever, such a classification would be of questionable utility. It will be necessary for us to possess more extensive and exact knowledge concerning the action of many of these substances before we can decide positively which are poisonous and which are not. The effect of a chemical compound upon the animal body depends upon the conditions under which, and the time during which it is administered. Thirty grains of quinine may be taken by a healthy man during twenty-four hours without any appreciable ill effect, yet few of us would be willing to admit that the administration of this amount daily for months would be wise or altogether free from injury. In the same manner, the administration of a given quantity of a bacterial alkaloid to a dog or a guinea-pig in a single dose may do no harm, while the daily production of the same substance in the intestine of a