The chemical fractionation of an adrenocorticolytic drug.

Abstract

It has long been known that technical DDD produces adrenal cortical atrophy, but the actual active agent has not been isolated. To isolate this agent, technical DDD was fractionated by recrystallization, oxidation, column chromatography, and chemical and physical analysis into several fractions. Most of the material (83“) was p,p'-DD, 10“ was o,p'-DDD, and the remainder consisted of unidentified materials. THE commercially available insecticide dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethane (DDD), the principal constituent of which is l,l-dichloro-2,2 bis(parachlorophenyl)ethane (p,p-DDD), has been described as an adrenocorticolytic agent. This drug causes extensive necrosis and atrophy of the adrenal cortex in dogs (2, 3). The adrenocorticolytic property of the compound has been utilized in the study of the biochemistry and physiology of the adrenal cortex, and has been used in experimental therapy in hyperadrenalism. The atrophy produced by DDD has been confirmed in many laboratories most of which have failed to make...