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Red urine has not been described as a symptom of pellagra, either endemic or alcoholic. The amounts of urinary porphyrin reported by Beckh, Ellinger and Spies were in many instances so large that the urine might have been expected to be red, since the amounts were as large as are often encountered in the wine red or dark red urines of idiopathic porphyria. This discrepancy is probably explained by the fact that the simple procedure they used is not specific for porphyrins and is not suitable for quantitative determination of the porphyrins. In the 3 cases discussed here, in which fluorimetric determinations were made, the per diem amount of coproporphyrin in no instance exceeded 0.6 mg (6OOy), while Beckh, Ellinger and Spies reported 4 cases in which the amount was over 100 mg per liter, 3 in which the amount was between 10-100 mg, and 3 in which it was between 1-10 mg. In all of the present cases red pigments have been encountered differing from porphyrins or known hemoglobin derivatives. T o what extent these pigments are related is not known. Considerable similarity in spectroscopic absorption was observed. The possibility must be considered that a common parent substance is altered 'variously in different urines and under different conditions, possibly undergoing esterification or conjugation. A change of the latter type was suggested particularly in the first of the present 4 cases, in which 25 % HCl extracted a red pigment from the ether extract of the fresh urine, but later failed to remove it.Prof. J. F. McClendon, Department of Physiological Chemistry, University of Minnesota, suggested that these red pigments might be indigo derivatives. Indirubin (indigo red, indipurpurin) exhibits similar absorption in xylene at 561 and 522 mp (max.) and crystallizes in crimson needles which sublime without melting. The possibility is being investigated that this is the red substance which has been encountered in pellagra urines.

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