MILK AND CHEESE PTOMAINES. The role which milk and its products play in the causation of disease has recently acquired
importance owing to the Vaughan, University.
a
valuable
new
searches of Professor
of
The occasion of these researches of sudden outbreaks of illness in ent
parts
which
of the
Michigan
was a
series
widely
differ-
Michigan State,
had been traced to
re-
the
cause
particular
of
cheeses.
Some 300 persons who had partaken of the cheeses had been suddenly affected with vomiting,
purging, dryness and constriction, of the fauces, cramps and prostration ; going on, in some cases, to collapse. Notwithstanding these alarming After two years of Vaughan succeeded in
symptoms all recovered. close
investigation, isolating from the
Dr.
highly poisonous name Tyrotoxicon (cheese-poison). By rendering the cheese slightly alkaline with potassium hydrate, agitating with ether, separating the etherial layers, Ptomaine to which
cheeses
acid,
gave the
he
filtering, evaporating allowing it to stand
he extracted the
a
the
in
filtrate,
vacuo
over
ptomaine which gave
and
then
sulphuric
in the form of
a blue colour needle-shaped crystals, with potassium ferri cyanide, and ferri chloride
and reduced iodic acid.
244
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
The
crystals placed
burning
a
sensation.
the tongue produce Given to a cat or dog on
outbreaks
ply.
were
[Aug.,
distinctly
traced
1887
the
milk-supShippen Wallace, further able to isolate to
Dr. Newton and Mr.
tyrotoxicon causes, in a short time, vomiting, the investigators, were purging, retching, muscular spasms over the tyrotoxicon from the poisonous milk which, abdomen, and collapse. This important dis- when given to a cat, produced the same sympcovery was followed by the isolation of the toms. In connection with this subject we may same poison from a sample of milk which had been standing for six months in a tightly- notice a paper which has appeared in the July stoppered bottle. Not satisfied, however, that this number of the Practitioner, in which Surgeon, milk had been normal in composition when R. H. Firth, of the Army Medical Staff, placed in the bottle, Dr. Vaughan put several describes a choleraic outbreak amongst the gallons of normal milk into clean bottles with European Infantry at Mean Meer, which he glass stoppers, allowed them to stand in his traces to the milk-supply. A seriesof experiments laboratory, and from time to time opened a on the suspected milk followed exactly similar to bottle and tested for tyrotoxicon. Negative those made by Drs. Vaughan, Newton, and results occurred until three months after the Shippen Wallace. So close indeed are Surgeon was when from one of the Firth's methods to those of the American experiment begun, bottles the ptomaine was obtained. While this doctors?even in the wording of his interestincr experiment was in progress, some ice cream, article, also in his explanations and conclusions, O
which had caused in 18 persons symptoms similar to the cheeses, was sent to the laboratory, and
again
Dr.
Vaughau successfully
By the addition of a poisouous ice-cream
able within 48 hours a
considerable
experiment toxicon is ments, affected or
less
gestive
to
quantity seemingly
very small milk, he has been
obtaiu from the milk
ptomaine.
indicates
that
of
some
intimate relation between
production
tyro-
butyof the
Fresh interest in these experiments is aroused by a series of outbreaks in New Jersey State. On August 7th, 1886, 24 persons at one
Long
Reach
were
taken
ill,
soon after supper, with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, and collapse 5 dryness of the throat,
and also the the
burning sensation in the oesophagus were prominent symptoms. At another hotel, on same evening, 19 persons were seized with same form of sickness, and, oddly enough,
while the
ill with
of the sickness was being in30 persons at another hotel were taken
cause
vestigated,
precisely
the
same
symptoms.
the remarkable coincidence. The subject of ptomaines in milk is whenever
poison.
of the hotels in
the substitu-
L-ictotoxine for
should be thoroughly
chemical
ric acid fermentation and the
name
This
body produced by fera probably by micro-organism. The cheese, milk, aud cream had all more butyric acid present in them, suga
important exception, viz.,
Tyrotoxicon? that, making allowance for the difficulty of seeing in India the works of others on the same of portion subject, we cannot help being impressed with
to
of the
one
tion of the
extracted tyro-
toxicon. the
with
The
object
opportunity
that
profession
we
to
one
worked out in this occurs.
which
country
It is with this
would draw the attention of the
Tyrotoxicon
or
Lactotoxine.
importance owing to the Vaughan, University.
a
valuable
new
searches of Professor
of
The occasion of these researches of sudden outbreaks of illness in ent
parts
which
of the
Michigan
was a
series
widely
differ-
Michigan State,
had been traced to
re-
the
cause
particular
of
cheeses.
Some 300 persons who had partaken of the cheeses had been suddenly affected with vomiting,
purging, dryness and constriction, of the fauces, cramps and prostration ; going on, in some cases, to collapse. Notwithstanding these alarming After two years of Vaughan succeeded in
symptoms all recovered. close
investigation, isolating from the
Dr.
highly poisonous name Tyrotoxicon (cheese-poison). By rendering the cheese slightly alkaline with potassium hydrate, agitating with ether, separating the etherial layers, Ptomaine to which
cheeses
acid,
gave the
he
filtering, evaporating allowing it to stand
he extracted the
a
the
in
filtrate,
vacuo
over
ptomaine which gave
and
then
sulphuric
in the form of
a blue colour needle-shaped crystals, with potassium ferri cyanide, and ferri chloride
and reduced iodic acid.
244
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
The
crystals placed
burning
a
sensation.
the tongue produce Given to a cat or dog on
outbreaks
ply.
were
[Aug.,
distinctly
traced
1887
the
milk-supShippen Wallace, further able to isolate to
Dr. Newton and Mr.
tyrotoxicon causes, in a short time, vomiting, the investigators, were purging, retching, muscular spasms over the tyrotoxicon from the poisonous milk which, abdomen, and collapse. This important dis- when given to a cat, produced the same sympcovery was followed by the isolation of the toms. In connection with this subject we may same poison from a sample of milk which had been standing for six months in a tightly- notice a paper which has appeared in the July stoppered bottle. Not satisfied, however, that this number of the Practitioner, in which Surgeon, milk had been normal in composition when R. H. Firth, of the Army Medical Staff, placed in the bottle, Dr. Vaughan put several describes a choleraic outbreak amongst the gallons of normal milk into clean bottles with European Infantry at Mean Meer, which he glass stoppers, allowed them to stand in his traces to the milk-supply. A seriesof experiments laboratory, and from time to time opened a on the suspected milk followed exactly similar to bottle and tested for tyrotoxicon. Negative those made by Drs. Vaughan, Newton, and results occurred until three months after the Shippen Wallace. So close indeed are Surgeon was when from one of the Firth's methods to those of the American experiment begun, bottles the ptomaine was obtained. While this doctors?even in the wording of his interestincr experiment was in progress, some ice cream, article, also in his explanations and conclusions, O
which had caused in 18 persons symptoms similar to the cheeses, was sent to the laboratory, and
again
Dr.
Vaughau successfully
By the addition of a poisouous ice-cream
able within 48 hours a
considerable
experiment toxicon is ments, affected or
less
gestive
to
quantity seemingly
very small milk, he has been
obtaiu from the milk
ptomaine.
indicates
that
of
some
intimate relation between
production
tyro-
butyof the
Fresh interest in these experiments is aroused by a series of outbreaks in New Jersey State. On August 7th, 1886, 24 persons at one
Long
Reach
were
taken
ill,
soon after supper, with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, and collapse 5 dryness of the throat,
and also the the
burning sensation in the oesophagus were prominent symptoms. At another hotel, on same evening, 19 persons were seized with same form of sickness, and, oddly enough,
while the
ill with
of the sickness was being in30 persons at another hotel were taken
cause
vestigated,
precisely
the
same
symptoms.
the remarkable coincidence. The subject of ptomaines in milk is whenever
poison.
of the hotels in
the substitu-
L-ictotoxine for
should be thoroughly
chemical
ric acid fermentation and the
name
This
body produced by fera probably by micro-organism. The cheese, milk, aud cream had all more butyric acid present in them, suga
important exception, viz.,
Tyrotoxicon? that, making allowance for the difficulty of seeing in India the works of others on the same of portion subject, we cannot help being impressed with
to
of the
one
tion of the
extracted tyro-
toxicon. the
with
The
object
opportunity
that
profession
we
to
one
worked out in this occurs.
which
country
It is with this
would draw the attention of the
Tyrotoxicon
or
Lactotoxine.
