SOME CHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF AN AMINE (MALTOXIN) ISOLATED FROM MALT ROOTLET

Abstract

In the previous paper (1), it was reported that HCl-ethanol extract obtained from wheat gluten malt rootlet exhibited potent toxicity against mouse. In connection to the finding, further experiments have been carried out employing brew malt rootlet as a test material. As it has been known, the rootlet contains various amines, such as hordenine, choline, betaine, tyramine and N-methyltyramine, some of which exert certain pharmacological activities (2-10). During the course of our present studies, another amine was found in the HCl-ethanol extract of the brew malt rootlet. Differing from other amines noted, the amine, named “maltoxin, ” was revealed to exhibit a strong contractile activity on the rectus muscle of frog. In this paper the method of preparation and some of the chemical and pharmacological properties of this active principle are described.