Cent Sodium Chloride Solution Research Articles

Modification of carcase characteristics in sheep maintained on a saline water regime

Two groups each of four Merino wethers, two years old and in very lean condition after many weeks on a straw ration, were fattened on a ration of lucerne hay. One group of animals drank 1.3 per cent sodium chloride solution for 16 weeks before and during fattening while the control group drank tap water throughout. Analyses done after body weight increases of about 12 kg showed that, compared to the controls, the saline drinking group had significantly less fat, more water, and more protein in the edible carcase. All differences were significant. Samples of fat from the omentum and perirenal area showed a tendency towards a higher degree of unsaturation in the saline-drinking animals although these results were not statistically significant.

The effects of an ultrasonic aerosol on pulmonary mechanics and arterial blood gases in patients with chronic bronchitis.

Spirometric and arterial blood gas measurements were made in 26 patients with chronic bronchitis before and after inhaling an ultrasonic mist of 0.45 per cent sodium chloride solution. A significant decrease in one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and vital capacity (VC) was noted after inhalation of ultrasonic mist for 15 minutes. Thirty per cent of these patients also had a decrease in arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) of 8 mm Hg or more. When a bronchodilator aerosol was inhaled before the ultrasonic mist, decrease in FEV1 and VC was not seen, but a significant decrease in PaO2 was noted. The decrease in PaO2 suggested that an undesirable change occurred in the ventilation-perfusion relationships of the lungs after bronchodilator therapy.

Endocrine factors in congestive heart failure

HERE IS impressive evidence that patients with congestive heart failure fail to excrete sodium and lack ability to maintain sodium balance. The evidence is both clinical and experimental. First, it is a basic clinical fact that a diet severely restricted in sodium will improve the condition of patients with congestive heart failure and that salt loads will aggravate it. Braunwald et al. l have recently devised a sodium tolerance test that clearly demonstrates the inability of patients with congestive heart failure to excrete a salt load. Similar findings were observed by Barge? in dogs with congestive heart failure induced experimentally by pulmonary stenosis and tricuspid insufficiency. Tricuspid insufficiency alone in dogs produced a rise in right atria1 pressure with definite al.terations in sodium excretion but without signs of congestive heart failure. However, the combination of tricuspid insufficiency and pulmonary artery stenosis in dogs results in a state of congestive heart failure similar to that seen in man with failure to excrete salt loads. In such an animal preparation, an infusion of 3.5 per cent sodium chloride solution directly into one renal artery produces no rise in sodium excretion, in contrast to the findings in similar experiments, performed in a normal dog. This failure of sodium excretion occurs without any change in the rate of glomerular filtration. These findings are convincing evidence of the increased tubular rea.bsorption of sodium in dogs with congestive heart failure. Second, a normal rate of glomerular filtration has been found in a number of patients with frank congestive heart failure.3s4 Bradley and Blake4 emphasized the absence of any significant change in this rate in many patients during or after recovery from congestive heart failure. They pointed out that in some patients the rate of glomerular filtration even fell during recovery without in any way preventing the diuretic response to therapy. It should also be recalled that in many cases of parenchymatous renal diseases, such as nephrosclerosis, pyelonephritis or glomerulonephritis, the rate of glomerular filtration may be extremely low without any evidence of edema formation. These observations again indicate the importance of increased tubular reabsorption of sodium in the pathogenesis of edema in congestive heart failure. Third, many investigators have emphasized the low concentration of sodium in the urine, sweat and saliva of patients with congestive heart failure, thereby indicating the presence of increased mineralocorticoid activity in the blood. Fourth, detailed studies of renal hemodynamics

Effects of age on taste discrimination in the bobwhite quail

Groups of bobwhite quail at 1 1 2 , 3, 6, 9 and 14 weeks were tested in the four taste modalities: sweet, sour, salt and bitter. Drinkers of contrasted colours were used for the test solution and for tap water to give an extra visual stimulus to aid discrimination. The same pattern of response was found in all five age groups; aversion to a solution of sucrose octa-acetate and to a 2 per cent solution of sodium chloride, preference for a 10 per cent solution of glucose and for a 0·05 per cent solution of hydrochloric acid. Age had no effect on this pattern of response; the groups as a whole showed like discrimination at all ages. Colour, though without significant effect at 1 1 2 weeks, affected results with older groups, as some subjects appeared averse to red. This aversion could be corrected by the stronger aversion to the salt solution, and, in the tests following that with salt, most of these subjects conformed to the preferences of the majority.

Sputum Induction by Newer Inhalation Methods in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

An evaluation of 1,605 inhalation procedures for stimulating production of sputum, paired with an equal number of gastric lavages, in tuberculosis patients of Glen Lake State Sanatorium has been presented. The five inhalants tested were: 10 per cent sodium chloride, sulful dioxide, pancreatic dornase, acetylcysteine, and sterile water. The 10 per cent solution of sodium chloride and sterile water were vaporized by a superheated aerosol nebulizer; the sulfur dioxide was released from a pressurized measured-dose vial; and the acetylcysteine and pancreatic dornase were administered from a standard glass nebulizer. Cultures of induced sputum obtained by the various inhalants yielded more positive findings than cultures of the gastrics with which they were paired. Fifteen minutes of nebulization with collection of sputum for up to a half hour appears to be the method of choice. Delayed gastric lavage cultures are inefficient with fewer positive results. However, gastrics continue to be indicated for mentally ill individuals, acutely ill patients, and children under the age of seven or eight years. The 10 per cent sodium chloride solution inhalations consistently yielded more positive cultures than did the gastrics with which they were paired, and this is now preferred in our hospital and out-patient clinic. The results of acetylcysteine and pancreatic dornase inhalations were encouraging, but these methods need further investigation. Sulfur dioxide inhalations for sputum induction are not recommended because of the possible danger resulting from repeated exposure to sulfur dioxide. Side effects from the various inhalations were minimal.

ON THE PRESENCE OF PRECORTICOTROPHIN – A PRECURSOR OF CORTICOTROPHIN IN VARIOUS MAMMALIAN HYPOPHYSES

ABSTRACT Pituitary extracts of various species origin such as beef, sheep, pig, guineapig, rabbit and rat prepared in 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution were assayed for corticotrophic activity, before and after acid treatment of the samples, by the adrenal ascorbic acid depletion method. The corticotrophic activity per mg of the pituitary tissue of sheep, pig and guineapig is comparable, but is considerably less than that of rat and rabbit pituitary glands. At the dose level of 0.25 mg wet weight of pituitary tissue per 100 g of body weight of the assay animals, the pituitary glands of all species except rabbit did not show any corticotrophic activity before acid treatment. However, after acid activation of the preparations significantly higher corticotrophic activity was detectable at this dose level. It is concluded that (1) the presence of precorticotrophin in the mammalian adenohypophysis is a general phenomenon, (2) at least 80 per cent of the total corticotrophic activity of the pituitary glands exists in the form of precorticotrophin, and (3) pig pituitary gland would be a suitable starting material for the separation of precorticotrophin from other pituitary factors. Cold stress caused substantial depletion in the pituitary glands of both corticotrophin and precorticotrophin. Corticosterone treatment and adrenalectomy caused a profound decrease in the corticotrophin content of the hypophysis but precorticotrophin was clearly demonstrable.

Room Temperature Stress Corrosion Cracking of Titanium Alloys

IT has been known for more than 10 years that titanium alloys suffer from intergranular stress corrosion cracking if they are in contact with chlorides at elevated temperatures (> 250° C), but it was only 18 months ago that Brown1 discovered that stress corrosion failures could occur at room temperature in a 3 per cent solution of sodium chloride. Titanium alloys are highly resistant to pitting attack in chloride solutions, and in order to investigate crack propagation rather than crack initiation, Brown used specimens of titanium alloy in the form of notched rectangular bars which had been fatigued in air until fine cracks had formed at the base of the notch. He found with static load tests that under plain strain conditions a 3 per cent solution of sodium chloride caused a decrease in the resistance of the alloy to the further propagation of the crack. This was a very important result, as it indicated that the stress corrosion resistance of titanium alloys under marine conditions depended on the resistance of the surface oxide on the alloy to the solution and not on the intrinsic resistance of the alloy lattice to the propagation of a stress corrosion crack which is the only really safe criterion.

The role of aldosterone and vasopressin in the postural changes in renal excretion in normal subjects and patients with idiopathic edema

The effects of the upright posture (leisurely walking for 2 hours) on half-hourly urine volume, and excretion of sodium and creatinine were studied in 13 normal subjects, and 13 patients with idiopathic edema, while they drank 150 or 300 ml. of 0.14 per cent sodium chloride solution every half hour. When the 2 hours of walking were compared with a preceding recumbent period of 4 hours, both groups were found to show a significant antidiuresis upright. The administration of ethanol during the last half hour of recumbency abolished the fall in urine flow and in free water clearance during the first hour of walking in the normal subjects and significantly reduced this fall in the patients with edema. Sodium excretion in the normal subjects was slightly but not significantly lower when upright than when recumbent, but in the edematous patients was significantly lower when upright and fell progressively over the 2 hour period. Administration of spironolactone or D-amphetamine increased sodium excretion during recumbency in both groups but increased sodium excretion upright only in the edematous patients to equal that of the normal subjects. Creatinine excretion was not changed in either group by posture or drug therapy. Similar studies were performed on 5 patients with untreated diabetes insipidus and on 6 patients with adrenal insufficiency treated with hydrocortisone alone. Lack of aldosterone (in adrenal insufficiency) did not increase the amount of sodium excreted above that of normal subjects in recumbency and did not prevent the occurrence of significant sodium retention in the upright posture. However, lack of ADH (in diabetes insipidus) delayed the antidiuresis upright for 30 minutes. The results indicate that ADH release is probably responsible for the reduction in urine volume during the first 30 minutes after assuming the upright posture, but not thereafter. The excessive magnitude of the orthostatic antidiuresis in idiopathic edema probably results from a cause other than ADH release, since it is not completely overcome by ethanol. Reduced Na excretion during 2 hours in the upright posture can occur in the absence of circulating aldosterone, but the abnormal magnitude of the Na retention in the patients with idiopathic edema probably results from hyperal-dosteronism.

INFLUENCE OF VASOPRESSIN ON THE METABOLIC RATE IN RATS

1. The administration of synthetic lysine vasopressin (100 and 40 mU per 100g, i. p.) caused a marked decrease in the metabolic rate in fasted rats. Synthetic oxytocin (400 mU per 100g, i. p.) had no effect.2. The administration of hypertonic sodium chloride solution (2ml per 100g, per os) caused a slight but significantdecrease in the metabolic rate in fasted rats. Chronic administration of 2 per cent sodium chloride solution for 7 days did not show any change in the metabolic rate.3. In sugar administered rats the decrease in the oxygen consumption produced by vasopressin was associated with an elevation of the RQ. In rats with high RQ values exceeding 0.900 the suppressive effect of vasopressin was not observed.4. The calorigenic effect of norepinephrine was entirely abolished by treatment with vasopressin.5. In alloxan diabetic rats the suppressive effect of vasopressin was also observed, though the metabolic rate wasextremely low in these animals.6. The results suggest that vasopressinexhibits its effect on the metabolic rate by suppressing fat utilization as metabolic fuel.

Functional states of the thyroid gland and the level of nucleic acids and histones in rabbit testes and ovaries.

WHILE carrying out investigations on the nucleic acids and histones in the liver and thymus in order to show their dependence on the general cell metabolism1, I decided to investigate the effect of thyroid gland activity on the genital glands. The experiments were carried out on 32 rabbits, 16 males and 16 females. In order to induce states corresponding to hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism the following pharmacological preparations were used: thyroxine, tapasol and methylothiouracil. The animals were divided into the following groups: Group I (4 males and 4 females) received thyroxine in the form of an injection in doses of 0.05 mg/kg of body-weight. Group II (4 males and 4 females) received injections of tapasol in doses of 1 mg/kg of body-weight. Group III (4 males and 4 females) received methylothiouracil injections in doses of 10 mg/kg of body-weight. Group IV was used for control purposes. The number of animals in this group was the same as for the previous groups. Half the animals in the control group did not receive any injections whereas the other half received an injection of 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution in order to obviate the possibility of any change being brought about by the injections themselves.

Extrasystoles and parasystole

Ventricular ectopic tachycardias were created by the focal injection of 0.05 c.c. of a 30 per cent solution of sodium chloride, or a 3.8 per cent solution of sodium citrate or oxalate into the subepicardial layers of the ventricular myocardium. These tachycardias were often followed by a parasystolic rhythm. The experiments show that a rapidly firing center is protected from the normal impulses which spread over the heart, and, thus, the hypothesis of entrance (protection) block is not necessary. These parasystoles provide an opportunity for study of the distance between ectopic beats and preceding normal beats (coupling). It was found that this distance varies little if normal and ectopic rhythms are rapid and have an almost equal rate. Marked variations in the coupling occur if the rates differ. Little variation in the coupling may occur if the impulses of a rapid parasystolic center become effective only shortly after a conducted beat.

Heat Transfer in Porous Rocks Through Which Single-Phase Fluids Are Flowing

Abstract Effective thermal conductivities were measured for seven samples of porous rocks through which gases or aqueous salt solution were flowing, parallel and countercurrent to the flow of beat. The results are analyzed in terms of the contributions of the solid and fluid phases to the total energy transfer. The solid contribution for the sandstone samples studied was found to be a function of the porosity and an effective thermal conductivity for the solid phase. The fluid contribution was a function of the Peclet number. Based upon the equations presented, the effective conductivity of the system can be estimated from the properties of the fluid, the flow conditions, and the porosity and pore-size distribution of the rock. Introduction Heat-transfer characteristics of porous media containing fluids are needed for the design and evaluation of thermal methods of petroleum production. The study reported here considers the problem of countercurrent flow of fluid and heat in sandstone rocks, and is a continuation of previous studies concerned with parallel and radial flow of energy and fluid in both rocks and beds of fine particles. In addition to these earlier works, Asaad, Kimura, Preston, Zierfuss and Vliet and Waddams have reported effective conductivities for systems filled with stagnant fluids. There appears to be no published data on rocks through which fluids are flowing. The purpose of this study was to present such information and, particularly, to investigate the effects of properties of the rock and the flow rate on the results. SCOPE The rock samples were naturally occurring sandstones from different locations and were similar to petroleum-bearing formations. The properties of the seven samples showing the range in porosities and permeabilities are given in Table I. The mean pore sizes were calculated from mercury penetration data by averaging the radius with respect to pore volume. The details of this method and comparison with other procedures for estimating r are given elsewhere. Four fluids, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium and 10 weight per cent sodium-chloride solution were used with each sample. For Bartlesville sandstone, BA-5, runs were made at mean pressures from 15 to 250 psig using nitrogen. The other measurements were carried out at a mean pressure of 100 psig. The maximum temperature range encountered was 70 degrees to 300 degrees F. The flow rate of fluid ranged from about 1.0 to 130 lb/(hr)(sq ft), and this corresponded to a modified Reynolds-number range of 5 x 10(–4) to 1. .0. The variation in Prandtl number was 0.70 to 4.1. EXPERIMENTAL WORK The equipment consisted of apparatus to supply a constant flow of gas, or salt solution, at constant pressure to the bottom of a vertical test section, and metering and flow-regulation apparatus after the test section. TABLE 1 - PROPERTIES OF ROCK SAMPLES Mean Pore Sampel Porosity Radius Permeability K* Desingation ( x 10(5) ft) (md) [Btu/(hr)(ft)(degrees F)] Bartlesville Sandstone BA-5 0.241 2.41 90 0.21 BA-9 0.219 2.40 27 0.32 Boise Sandstone BO-Old 0.267 6.18 970 0.11 BO-New 0.298 5.62 1300 0.045 42 0.177 2.69 154 1.30 135 0.195 3.27 130 0.70 Alhambra Sandstone AL 0.215 5.61 610 0.45 SPEJ P. 290^

Development of the Sporocyst Generations of Glypthelmins quieta (Stafford, 1900) (Trematoda:Plagiorchioidea), a Parasite of Frogs

The development of the mother and daughter sporocysts and the paletots of Glypthelmins quieta was studied in laboratory-reared specimens of Physa gyrina. Following the ingestion of embryonated eggs, the miracidia hatch in the snail digestive tract and soon penetrate the intestinal epithelium. Mother sporocysts develop between the epithelium and the underlying basement membrane. At first the mother sporocysts are spherical but later they develop an uneven or lumpy surface as basement membrane cells multiply and invade the mother sporocyst to form cellular membranes around individual daughter sporocysts. These membranes are the paletots. As daughter sporocysts develop they remain in a compact mass, all held together by their paletots. Fully developed paletots are composed of flattened epithelial cells and fine fibers. Cercariae are released between the paletot and the sporocyst body wall. Paletot formation is dependent upon a cellular response to the invading parasite by the host snail. This represents an attempt by the host to isolate or wall off the parasite. The method of development of the sporocyst generations and paletots of G. quieta was found to be similar to that of Haplometrana intestinalis, but quite different from that of Telorchis bonnerensis. On the basis of cercarial anatomy, method of development of the sporocysts, and origin of paletots, G. quieta is thought to be closely related to H. intestinalis. The author suggests that G. quieta be assigned to the family Macroderoididae. Information on the life cycle of Glypthelmins quieta has been published by Rankin (1944) and by Leigh (1937 and 1946). Rankin's observations were made on naturally infected snails. He illustrated only a welldeveloped daughter sporocyst. Leigh (1946) illustrated and described two developmental stages of the mother sporocyst, 18 and 36 days old respectively, and also a young and a welldeveloped daughter sporocyst. Leigh used field-collected snails for his egg-feeding experiments. Cheng (1961) published an account of the life history of G. pennsylvaniensis Cheng which utilizes Helisoma trivolvis (Say) as intermediate host. He illustrated and described four developmental stages of the mother sporocyst and two stages of the daughter sporocyst. He used specimens of H. trivolvis that had been collected from a supposedly helminth-free lake. The present paper is the third in a series published by the author on the comparative development of the paletots and the sporocyst generations of representative genera and species plagiorchioid trematodes. Received for publication 8 January 1962. *This investigation was supported by a research grant (No. E-950) from the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mature specimens of Glypthelmins quieta were obtained from the intestine of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), purchased from the Lemberger Co., Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Laboratory-reared specimens of Physa gyrina were used throughout the investigation. The adult snails were collected and brought to the laboratory for oviposition. Egg masses were distributed to large fingerbowls containing aquarium water, stems of Elodea, soaked maple leaves, and powdered calcium carbonate. Young snails having a shell length of 2 to 3 mm were used for egg-feeding experiments. Groups of 25 to 30 snails were placed in 2-inch Stender dishes with embryonated eggs of G. quieta. The snails were permitted to ingest eggs for 15 to 20 minutes, after which they were transferred to clean culture dishes. Examination of snails was begun 1 hour after feeding eggs and continued daily. Most observations were made from living specimens. The snails were dissected in 0.2 per cent solution of sodium chloride and studied as wet preparations under the oil immersion objective. Dilute aqueous neutral red and acetocarmine were used to stain the germinal and somatic cells of the parasite. For more critical observation of histological details some infected snails were removed from their shells, placed in Heidenhain's Susa fixative, sectioned, and then stained with either Ehrlich's haematoxylin or Heidenhain's iron-haematoxylin. The age of the sporocysts is given in days in order to provide a more orderly sequence for the developmental stages. It is realized that the rate of development is affected by changes in the temperature of the environment.

Relationship of pH to Aerobic Corrosion Fatigue Life of Steel

IT is often of some importance, as in marine service and in the petroleum industry, to know how various pH levels affect the room temperature corrosion fatigue life of a steel. We have performed a statistical-type, R. R. Moore machine, fatigue study of a normalized-only A.I.S.I. 1036 steel with the results shown in Fig. 1. The tensile strength was 100,000 p.s.i. ; the yield strength was 68,400 p.s.i. ; and the per cent elongation (2 in.) was 30 per cent. A 3 per cent sodium chloride solution was used, this with a shaped capillary film glass feeder system. One curve was determined with a sodiumhydroxide-saturated, 3 per cent sodium chloride solution. Etching (Fig. 2) was observed therein—no caustic embrittlement whatever was noted.

The ineffectiveness of carnitine preventing the twitchings of striated frog muscle in 0.7 per cent sodium chloride solution.

The spontaneous twitchings of isolated frog sartorius muscles in 0.7% NaCl solution have been studied. Addition of 1 mg./ml. of (+/-)-carnitine hydrochloride, or of (+/-)-carnitine base, to the bath fluid had no influence on the spontaneous activity of the muscles, their excitability or their ability to liberate potassium. This indicates that carnitine is not a natural inhibitor of striated frog muscle. Fluids enriched with potassium either from twitching muscle or by addition of KCl inhibited the activity of muscles reversibly.

Focal application of hypertonic solutions of sodium chloride on impulse formation in the heart of the dog

Focal application of a hypertonic solution of sodium chloride to the atria or ventricles of the exposed heart of the dog leads to the appearance of coupled extrasystoles or short bouts of ectopic paroxysmal tachycardia 5. When 0.05 c.c. of a 20 per cent solution of sodium chloride is injected into the taenia terminalis, in which the sinus node is situated, and one of the vagus nerves is stimulated in the neck with a faradic current, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, or a paroxysmal atrial tachycardia appears 11. These effects are fleeting, and are observed for 4 to 5 minutes immediately following the injection. This investigation was continued and the effect of injections of the hypertonic solution in two other areas was studied: these areas were the atrioventricular node and the appendix of the left atrium, which is supposedly devoid of specialized automatic fibers.

Measurement of Toughness in Cold-stored Fish

LUIJPEN recently noticed1 that the proportion of fish muscle protein that would dissolve in 5 per cent sodium chloride solution was not correlated with the development of toughness during cold-storage at or below −20° C. The discovery was of great significance to the study of cold-storage phenomena, because it implied that the soluble protein nitrogen (usually expressed as a percentage of the total protein nitrogen) could not now be used as an objective standard for the quality of cold-stored fish. This was contrary to former belief.

Electrophoretic behaviour of i-urobilin and stercobilin.

As the urobilinoid pigments i-urobilin and stercobilin are known to contain both basic and acidic groups, we have investigated their electro-phoretic behaviour—yet unstudied—at various pH values. Paper electrophoresis was performed at 120 V., in acetate buffer (a mixture of M/5 acetic acid–sodium acetate buffer and 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution) in the pH. range less than 6.0, and barbital buffer (Michaelis sodium barbital-sodium acetate-hydrochloric acid buffer) at pH greater than 6.0; the positions of the coloured spots were observed directly during the procedure, but even minute quantities of urobilinoid pigments could be seen at the end of the run after spraying the papers with Schlesinger reagent (saturated zinc acetate solution in ethanol), and observing the green fluorescence in ultra-violet light. With the exception of the sharply defined pH. value of 4.41 at which both urobilinoid pigments became immobile in the electric field, they moved towards the cathode at pH less than 4.41 and toward the anode at pH. greater than this value, the direction of movement, which was the same for both pigments, being dependent only on the pH. However, the rate of movement of these materials differed at various pH. levels: thus in buffers around pH 5.0 and at pH less than 4.41 stercobilin migrated faster toward the anode or cathode, respectively, whereas at higher pH values (8.6) urobilin was found to move faster than stercobilin in the anode direction.

Variation with age of shrinkage temperature of human collagen.

DURING the course of an investigation of hydro-thermal shrinkage temperatures of human tissue, we examined many samples of different ages. Small fibres were teased out from the tissue immersed in 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution and transferred with salt solution to a capillary tube. This was placed in a micro-melting point apparatus (Gallenkamp) and the shrinkage temperature determined by viewing under low magnification. The voltage across the heating element was controlled by a rheostat to give a rise of not more than 2 deg. per min. The temperatures at which the fibres started and finished shrinking were designated Ts 1 and Ts 2 respectively. Samples were taken from dura mater or fascia lata at autopsy or at operation from cases not suffering from ‘connective tissue’ disease and were examined without delay. In saline, fibres from either tissue from any one individual shrunk over the same range, and there was no difference between different fibres from one tissue. Results are given in Table 1.

Complex Formation between Groundnut Skin Pigments and Conarachin II

WHEN defatted groundnut meal containing a portion of the red skins of the nut was extracted with 10 per cent (w/v) sodium chloride solution and the extract dialysed against phosphate–sodium chloride buffer, ionic strength I 0.5, pH 8, the sedimentation-velocity diagram (Fig. 1a) revealed the presence of three components: arachin, the major component (sedimentation constant, s°20 = 13.3 S., conarachin II (s°20 = 8.4 S.) and conarachin I (s°20 ≈ 2 S.)1. When the extraction was carried out at pH 8–9 with sodium hydroxide, the solution was considerably more red in colour, the conarachin II component was less apparent, and the presence of a fourth, very fast sedimenting component (s°20 = 32 S.) was observed (Fig. 1b). This fast component was absent, however, in extracts of blanched nuts or white skinned nuts. It would therefore appear to be connected with the presence of the red skin pigments in the meal.