Evening star., 1941-04-10
'Detoxicant' Checking
Effect Of Poisons Is
Reported 10 Chemists
Body Substances Also
Useful in AIIoyine
'Mornine-After' Coses
By THOMAS r. HENRY,
star Staff CORRESPONDENT.

Star Staff Correspondent.
ST, LOUIS, April l0.-Discovery
of a general human "detoxicant"
was announced here today.
Drs. Gustav J. Martin and Mar
Win r. Thompson of the Warner
Institute for Therapeutic Research,
New York City, reported to the
American Chemical Society. in ses-
sion here, that from combination
of five chemicals found in the body
they have been able to modify
greatly the effects of poisons.
Among the possible applications,
1t was explained, Is as preventa-
tive of hangovers, since the sub
stance offsets the poisonous effects
of alcohol. Of greater significance,
DR.. Martin explained. are the i'm
plications for medicine and for
safeguarding against industrial
poisons.
More than 10000 animals, he re-
ported, were used in the experiments
leading to the discovery.
Builds Up Resistance.
1t long has been known, DR.. Mar
tin reported. that mans ability to
fight off effects of poisons depends
largely on the body's supply of
chemicals which detoxify and help
to eliminate them. The supply of
these chemicals varies with the in
dividual. Where a deficiency exists
a person is much more susceptible
to being poisoned. In some cases a
resistance can be built up-as, for
example, against arsenic.
The new detoxicant, DR.. Martin
said. is composed of a mixture,
which may be varied according to
the poison present, of five of the So
called amino acids of the body
choline, cystine, ascorbic acid glycine
and glucoronic acid. All these con-
tain sulphur and are essential to
life. Each of these has an indi-
vidual effect, but the combination
of the five gives an effect much
greater than the sum of the indi-
vidual effects.
LAS the detoxicant," he said, 'is
composed of exactly those COM
pounds which are used by the body,
it serves to build up the supply OF
natural body resistance. 1t intro
duces no chemical to which the
body is not already accustomed.
Important in Wartime.
The fields in which this type OF
therapy can be used are many.
There are drugs capable of bringing
about spectacular cures, but because
OF their toxic effect they have been
largely withheld from general use.
1t is now possible 10 administer the
drug with the detoxicant chemicals,
thus reducing the toxicity of the
remedial drug while in no way
lessening its therapeutic effect.
''As an example of this, sulfanll-
amide is detoxified by the use OF the
detoxifying chemicals. Its chemo-
therapeutic activity is even slightly
enhanced, in part, by increasing the
speed of it's absorption from the
gastro-intestinal tract and by re-
ducing the amounts of the drug con-
vel leu lllbO hldCbiNC lolul
In shock. particularly that caused
by a severe wound or burn, the
immediate symptoms are caused by
the release of a chemical known as
histamine in the injured tissues
Histamine is detoxified in the same
manner as sulfanilimide. If the body
has an adequate supply Of the de-
toxicant. or detoxifying chemicals, II
is capable of greater resistance to
the injurious effects. Thus we have
type of therapy which should
prove of importance in wartime,
The application in industrial poi
sons is unlimited. Alinine poisoning
in the dye industry and lead poison
ing in the metallurgical industry are
Immediately suggested Another
| condition in which the patient
ability to detoxify is greatly reduced
Is the toxemia Of pregnancy. Here
administration of the proper detox-
| flying compounds should prove val
liable.
The chemicals used in the detox-
flying mixture do not represent q
panacea. Rather they afford 9
means of reinforcing the body's owr
processes of detoxiflcation in the
same way as immunity is increased
to tetanus toxin by the administra-
ton of tetanus antitoxin."
Minimum Diet Offered.
A new minimum diet for the able
bodied American adult chemical
man." based on the latest physio-
logical researches, was also proposed
here today.
Its essential chemical constituents
as raw materials with no attention
paid to processing, cooking or va
riety, would cost at wholesale about
$50 year. Actually, OF course, any
possible diet of such a chemical
makeup which a civilized man
would eat would be much more ex-
pensive.
1t was presented at a symposium
on the Governments campaign for
better nutrition as a defense meas
ure by DR.. c. A. Elvehjem of the
University of Wisconsin, one of the
countrys foremost nutrition ex-
perts. 1t is, per day:
Energy producing foods, such a
sugars and starches-3,000 calories
represented by about a pound and a
half Of pure sugar.
Requires Proteins.
Proteins - nitrogen containing
foods such as meat, milk, eggs and
various plants-70 grains, or about
IN ounces.
Iron, II milligrams; calcium, o.
grams; copper, 2 milligrams; iodine
so to 100 micrograms, depending or
weight: phosphorus, about equal tt
calcium.
vitamin A, necessary for resist
ance to infection and prevention O
night blindness, 1000 to 5000 in