The Chemistry of Crystalline Substances Isolated from the Suprarenal Gland

An investigation of the chemistry of the suprarenal cortex has been under way in this laboratory for the past few years. In December, 1933, a crystalline organic substance was first obtained from an extract of the gland. This substance was used in place of the whole extract of the suprarenal cortex without any other change in experimental conditions (3). The results indicated that the crystalline material possessed physiologic activity similar to that of the extract from which it had been separated. Subsequent investigation has shown that the problem is much more complex than at first realized. We have found several substances which can be separated in crystalline form, all of which appeared to be closely related. It has also been shown that suprarenalectomized dogs and patients with Addison’s disease can be maintained in a normal condition without any extract of the suprarenal gland, provided the diet contains adequate amounts of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate or citrate (1, 2). A discussion of the physiologic activity of the many crystalline fractions will be deferred until a later publication, but it is now apparent that the crystals first separated do not influence the level of urea in the blood. Recently Wintersteiner and Pfiffner (7) and Reichstein (6) have also described the separation and properties of several crystalline fractions from the suprarenal gland. Previous reports on our work have been given at various meetings. We are now presenting in detail the results of our chemical studies which have been carried further than those of Wintersteiner and Pfiffner and of Reichstein. A comparison of their results with ours is given in the discussion.