HISTORICAL SURVEY 31 



starch of the grain gave rise to toxins which exerted a deleterious 

 action on the nervous system, and that this was prevented by the 

 addition of the pericarp. This conception should not surprise us 

 since in those days the nature of the disease was quite puzzling. 

 Eijkman (51) likewise made the important observation that the 

 watery extract of rice bran possessed therapeutic properties. Phytin 

 was found in the rice bran, but it was shown to be without effect on 

 beriberi. He noted also that the curative substance is dialysable 

 and not precipitated by the addition of alcohol. The observations 

 made in 1897 were, after all, those upon which the modern research 

 on beriberi is based. All credit is due Eijkman for having laid the 

 foundation for the conduct of future experiments. 



Grijns (52), continuing the work, was able to confirm the experi- 

 ments of Eijkman completely. He was the first worker to express 

 clearly a conception of beriberi, which holds good to this day. Grijns 

 said that the disease developed when the diet was lacking certain 

 substances which were of importance in the metabolism of the 

 peripheral nervous system. 5 Curative substances similar to those 

 occurring in rice bran were found by Grijns in a kind of bean called 

 "Katjang-idjoe" (Phaseolus radiatus), and in meat; he also demon- 

 strated that these foodstuffs lost their curative properties when they 

 were heated to 120C. These experiments were of greatest signifi- 

 cance in the further development of the question, and they were 

 also confirmed by Eijkman (I.e. 51). Breaudat (54) used rice bran 

 in the treatment of human beriberi with good results. Fraser and 

 Stanton (55) sought to determine more definitely the nature of the 

 substance. They found that it was soluble in strong alcohol and 

 that it retained its activity after the removal of alcohol-soluble 

 proteins. They made analyses of various kinds of rice and believed 

 that a rice poor in phosphorus would cause beriberi. Thereupon, 

 they suggested the phosphorus content as a practical indicator 

 of the nutritive value of rice. For instance, rice which contained 

 a minimum of 0.46 per cent P 2 O 5 was to be considered harmless. 

 However, we should not forget that Schuffner and Kuenen (56) 

 have shown that the method of preparation of the rice diet is 

 likewise of importance. That is, the rice should be partaken of 

 together with the broth, particularly in the case of whole rice. 



5 Eijkman carried out a lengthy polemic on this point, but he admits now 

 (53) that Grijns was correct. 



