The potato eelworm hatching factor. 2. Purification of the factor by alkaloid salt fractionation. Anhydrotetronic acid as an artificial hatching agent

Abstract

The potato eelworm hatching factor can be extracted with difficulty from acid aqueous soln. by ether, and this process has been employed as a first stage in the purification of crude concentrates from tomato root leachings. The hatching factor is an acid, and for it the name eclepic acid is proposed. The prepn. of highly active brucine and quinine salts from eclepic acid concentrates is descr., as are also some of the properties of the resinous free acid prepared from them. The most active prepns. of eclepic acid, although still impure, show full hatching activity on eelworm cysts at a dilution of 1 in 107 to 1 in 108. No appreciable hatching activity was shown by a variety of substances likely to occur in plant leachings or by several amino acids and tetronic acids. Anhydrotetronic acid, however, was found to possess definite hatching properties, being fully active at a dilution of 1/2000. A preliminary pot expt. showed that it could bring about artificial hatching of eelworm cysts in sand.