A NOTE ON THE

PREPARATION
OF GLYOXYLIC
REAGENT.
BY STANLEY

(From

the Shefield

Laboratory

(Received

R. BENEDICT.

of Physiological
for

publication,

ACID AS A

Chemistry,
January

Yale

University.)

5, agog.)

* Hopkins
and Cole:
Proc. Roy. Sot. Ixviii,
p. ar, rgor;
also Journal
of
Physiology,
xxvii,
p. 418, rgoz,
footnote.
2 Magnesium
ribbon
may also be employed,
but in this case the reaction
goes more slowly
and may be accelerated
by warming.
s The reason
for the addition
of the acetic
acid is that the filtrate
may
sometimes
be faintly
alkaline
in reaction,
and in such cases the magnesium
would be partially
precipitated
upon long standing,
unless the acid is added.

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Hopkins and Cole have proposed the employment of a solution

of glyoxylic acid as a substitute
for the glacial acetic acid used
in the Adamkiewicz
reaction for the tryptophane
grouping in
protein or other substances.
In the preparation of their reagent,
Hopkins and Cole advise the reduction of oxalic acid to glyoxylic,
by means of sodium amalgam.
Inasmuch
as sodium amalgam
is not always readily available, it may be of interest to call attention to the fact that metallic magnesium may be employed as the
reducing agent for obtaining glyoxylic
acid from oxalic acid.
The following is the procedure.
Ten grams of powdered
magnesium2 are placed in a large beaker, or preferably a large Erlenmeyer flask, and shaken up with enough distilled water to liberally cover the magnesium.
Two hundred and fifty cubic centimeters of a cold, saturated solution of oxalic acid are nowadded
slowly.
The reaction proceeds very rapidly and with the liberation of much heat, so that the flask should best be cooled under
the tap during the addition of the acid. The contents of the
flask are shaken after the addition of the last portion of the acid
and then poured upon a filter, to remove the insoluble magnesium
oxalate.
A little wash water is poured through the filter, the
filtrate acidified with acetic acid3 and made up to one liter with
distilled water.
The solution gives no reaction for oxalate with

52

Preparation

of Glyoxylic

Acid

calcium and contains apparently

only the magnesium
salt of
glyoxylic
acid. This reagent gives very beautifully
the characteristic reactions for glyoxylic acid.
1The
objection

magnesium

could
to its presence.

readily

be removed,

but

there

appears

to be no

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ARTICLE:
A NOTE ON THE PREPARATION OF
GLYOXYLIC ACID AS A REAGENT
Stanley R. Benedict
J. Biol. Chem. 1909, 6:51-52.

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