Neurine
Encyclopedia
Neurine is an alkaloid
found in egg yolk, brain, bile and in cadavers. It is formed during putrefaction of biological tissues by the dehydration
of choline
. It is a poisonous, syrupy liquid with a fishy odor.
Neurine is a quaternary ammonium salt
with three methyl groups and one vinyl
group attached to the nitrogen atom. Synthetically, neurine can be prepared by the reaction of acetylene
with trimethylamine
. Neurine is unstable and decomposes readily to form trimethylamine.
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
found in egg yolk, brain, bile and in cadavers. It is formed during putrefaction of biological tissues by the dehydration
Dehydration reaction
In chemistry and the biological sciences, a dehydration reaction is usually defined as a chemical reaction that involves the loss of water from the reacting molecule. Dehydration reactions are a subset of elimination reactions...
of choline
Choline
Choline is a water-soluble essential nutrient. It is usually grouped within the B-complex vitamins. Choline generally refers to the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium cation....
. It is a poisonous, syrupy liquid with a fishy odor.
Neurine is a quaternary ammonium salt
Quaternary ammonium cation
Quaternary ammonium cations, also known as quats, are positively charged polyatomic ions of the structure NR4+, R being an alkyl group or an aryl group. Unlike the ammonium ion and the primary, secondary, or tertiary ammonium cations, the quaternary ammonium cations are permanently charged,...
with three methyl groups and one vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
group attached to the nitrogen atom. Synthetically, neurine can be prepared by the reaction of acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
with trimethylamine
Trimethylamine
Trimethylamine is an organic compound with the formula N3. This colorless, hygroscopic, and flammable tertiary amine has a strong "fishy" odor in low concentrations and an ammonia-like odor at higher concentrations...
. Neurine is unstable and decomposes readily to form trimethylamine.