Biochemical studies on the male hormone as obtained from urine

TLDR: The purpose of this communication is to present a method for the extraction and purification of the comb-growth-stimulating substance found in human male urine and to compare the chemical and physiological properties of this substance with the extracts from bull testis.

Abstract: The testicular hormone obtained from human male urine has been the subject of investigation by many workers, notably Funk, Harrow, and Lejwa (1, 2, 3), McCullagh, McCullagh, and Hicken (4), Dodds, Greenwood, and Gallimore (5, 6) and Butenandt (7). With the exception of the last mentioned author, the extracts described by these workers have been rather crude compared to the relatively high purity of the bull testis extracts described by the present authors. The purpose of this communication is to present a method for the extraction and purification of the comb-growth-stimulating substance found in human male urine and to compare the chemical and physiological properties of this substance with the extracts from bull testis. The urine is acidified with sulfuric acid within two hours after collection to approximately 1 per cent by volume. After filtering through cloth to remove foreign particles, the urine is extracted with benzene in a continuous extractor as shown in Figure 1. When a sufficient quantity has...