Indole-3-aldehyde from Tissues

Abstract

Salhanick and Berliner¹ studied a feminizing adrenal tumour from a man of 22. It weighed 920 gm., of which 523 gm. were used for chemical extraction. The frozen tissue was homogenized and extracted with acetone, leaving a ‘protein’ residue. The aqueous acetone was extracted with chloroform and the resulting lipid was partitioned between hexane and 75 per cent methanol. The latter was reduced to small bulk and extracted with chloroform to yield 0.67 gm. of yellow oil. The protein residue was digested with alkali (1 l. 5 per cent sodium hydroxide) for two days and extracted first with ether at pH 10 and then at pH 3 after acidification. After partitioning the extract, 0.26 gm. of oil was obtained. Chromatography on silica gel yielded progesterone, equilenin and two unidentified materials designated AAE-I-BI (44 µgm.) and AAE-I-AI (23 µgm.) from the acetone extract. From the protein hydrolysate extract the same materials were obtained in somewhat larger amounts (AAE-I-AI, 109 µgm.) together with three further unidentified fractions.