STUDIES ON THE ADRENAL CORTEX

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Abstract
In experiments on epinephrectomized cats (no. not stated), extract of whole adrenal glands proved as effective in combating adrenal insufficiency and as low in adrenalin content as are preparations of cortex alone. A new method for separation of adrenalin from the cortical hormone is described; it consists in distributing an active fraction between aqueous alkali and an immiscible solvent such as benzene or ether. Adrenalin passes into solution in the aqueous alkali whereas the cortical hormone is found in the immiscible solvent phase. By this fractionation step, highly active extracts (1 cc. equivalent to 30 gm. of cortex) have been prepared, containing less than 1 part of adrenalin in 4,000,000. The cortical hormone is thermolabile and is destroyed by boiling an active extract in an open flask for 2 min. Cortical extracts prepared with permutit fractionation give negative biuret, ninhydrin, Hopkins-Cole, Molisch, Pauly and Liebermann-Burchard reactions. They give positive xanthoproteic, Millon''s alkaline Cu, and alkaline phosphotungstate reactions; these can be accounted for by the presence of traces of phenolic decomposition products of adrenalin. Cortical extracts, if preserved with 0.1% benzoic acid, retain their potency for long periods at room temperature. Test of the potency of fractions containing the cortical hormone which had been stored in benzene for 12-15 mos., show that they retained much of their activity during this period.

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