Evening star., 1941-09-09
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

Out of fetid tropical JungleS, garish
with red and orange blossoms OF cry
thrina trees and bushes, has come a
new and potent paralyzing drug.
Long known through its effects to
savage tribes of the Upper Amazon,
this drug promises to be a valuable
remedy for certain convulsive diseases
and some types of insanity Its isola-
ton in a pure form was reported to the
American Chemical Society meeting at
Atlantic City by Dr. Karl A. Folkers Of
Railway, N. j., who received for his
achievement the annual $1,000 award IN
pure chemistry.
It is obtained from seeds Of the
erythrina. DR.. Folkers has isolated 1t
in more than so species of this plant,
one of the showiest found in tropical
America. Prior to his research, started
about five years ago, extracts of the seeds
effect but nothing had been established
concerning the nature of the poison.
The substance reported by DR.. Folkers
today is an alkaloid, of the same chemical
family as the nicotine of tobacco, which
has been called erythroidine. There
may be several other alkaloids which
play a part in the paralyzing effects.
These paralyzing drugs are among the
weirdest of all poisons, as used by the
Indians. They have the effect of throw
ing out of action the motor nerves so
that a victim, while entirely conscious,
is unable to move.
The best known Is curare, the famous
arrow poison. Only within the past few
wears has this been used in medicine.
The substance secured from the Indians
had effects which could not be predicted
and physicians were afraid to take
chances. Since chemists have isolated it
in pure form it has become valuable
remedy in the treatment of such convul-
sive diseases as tetanus.
Curare, however, acts only when 1t
gets into the blood stream. The new
erythroidine, considerably milder in Its
effects, can be given by mouth.
1t was given to humans for the first
time few weeks ago, after extensive
experiments with dogs. One OF the
newest remedies in psychiatry is the
convulsion producing drug, metraZol.
BY throwing victims into so-called
metrazol fits it has been possible for
the first time to clear up many cases
Of the dreaded mental disease schizo-
rhrenia.
The convulsions which accompany
these fits, however, are very violent.
Occasionally arms, legs or ribs are
broken. So far as psychiatrists know
however, the good effects of the drug
are directly on the brain. The convul-
sions are incidental and play no part
! in the cures. These can be prevented,
or made much milder by the new drug.
Several other valuable drugs may be
obtained from the plants, DR.. Folkers
believes. The seeds have been studied
first for convenience, he said, but the
bark of several species now Is known to
contain active alkaloids.
Most of the remedies used by primitive
| peoples which seem to have curative
| properties, DR.. Folkers said, have been
extracted from the roots, bark or leaves
of plants. Scientists early discovered
tIldG IliC ICIlCQ1dl were uuc
to so-called active principles which
constituted only minute part of the
! whole. The first of such principles to
| be isolated, morphine, was extracted
| from opium in 1906 by German drug
gist. Since then approximately 200 of
these active principles have been ex-
tracted from plants.
| Tt hoe haap fo,ynI nv 1olL
planned, that any plant which contains
one alkaloid probably has several-pos-
sibly with strikingly different effects.
| Opium, for example, contains about 20.
The variety which may be obtained from
the erythrina plant can only be con-
| jectured.
| DR.. Folkers and his associates are
making an intensive study of the chem
ical structure of the paralyzing alkaloid,
with the possibility that they may be
able to produce it synthetically.
Sawdust-of which about 5000 900 tons
year goes to waste in the United
States-may become a treasure chest of
essential war chemicals.
The chief essential material to be
| obtained from the sawdust pile, it has
been stressed by DR.. Donald F. Othmer of
Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, is oxalic
acid. This has been in great demand
in war industries, with supplies, at sew
eral times the normal price, insufficient
to take ,care of demands 1t is used
in the manufacture of celluloid, rayon,
leather and various textiles.
Work of Dr. Othmer and his associates
has proved the practical possibility of
manufacturing this important organic
chemical from sawdust. The dust itself
is mixed with lye and the resulting mass
treated with lime and sulfuric acid. Be-
sides the oxalic acid obtained, appre-
ciable quantities of acetic and formic
acid, useful in war industries, come out
| of the mixture.
IAN apparatus has been designed and
operated in pilot plant size" DR.. Othmer
said, (which reduces operation costs and
permits use of unskilled labor. A hun
dred pounds of dried sawdust, which the
mills give away, burn or pay to have
removed because of the nuisance Of dis
posing Of the mountains of it which
accumulate, will produce so pounds of
oxalic acid, Is pounds of acetic acid and
4 pounds each of formic acid and wood
! alcohol In normal times these would