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Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 536, 25 November 1890, Page 2

TOXALEUMIN is said to be the main factor in Dr Koch’s cure for consumption. We had some idea of what the word meant, but we have now come across fuller information extracted from ap American medical journal. We commend it to the attention of the teaching staff of the Gisborne School: —“According to Professer Cornill the toxic action of pathogenetic microbes (disease germs) is not wholly due either to the microbes themselves or the alkaloids they secrete. Christmas has found that cultures of staphylococcus pyogenes aureus contain a pyogenic (pus-forming), albuminous substance, which may be precipitated by alcohol. Hankrn precipitated this toxic albumin from cultures of carbon bacilli by the use of amonia sulphate and alcohol, and found them to possess innoculatory power. Brieger and Frankel and Roux and Yersin obtained the substance from cultures of the dipthefitic bacillus, It is soluble in water, and may be precipitated by carbonic, acetic, and some of the concentrated mineral acids, by phenal, sulphate of copper, nitrate of silver, chloride of mercury, the usual re-agssts for albumin, and the xantho proteic reagent, while polarisation also shows that it is a derivative of albumin. The substance is said to resemble serqsalbumin. It is very toxic, and conserves its properties after being subjected to a heat of 150 deg. F. Brieger and F-rasnkel think that the tox-albumins 1 arise in the organism, and develop there at the expense of the albumen of the tissues?