DEFENSIVE FERMENTS OF THE ANIMAL ORGANISM 47 



canal. These ferments may not be identical in all 

 details. It is quite possible that the ferments passing 

 from the glands of the intestinal canal differ more or 

 less in nature, because, in the case of food, a much 

 more heterogeneous mixture of separate products is 

 introduced from the outside than is found in the 

 already transformed nutritive material of the cells of 

 the body, which circulates in the blood and lymph 

 channels. It is also possible that differences prevail 

 in the mode of disintegration, and consequently in 

 the resulting decomposites. It is quite certain that 

 the cells of the body are capable of hydrolytically 

 splitting fats into alcohol and fatty acids. Further, 

 they are able to decompose carbohydrates of a com- 

 plicated structure, especially glycogen, through dex- 

 trines to maltoses. The maltose formed is reduced, 

 by the ferment known as maltase, into two molecules 

 of grape sugar. We know also that very dissimilar 

 cells of the body contain ferments which decompose 

 albumen into peptones. The latter are further 

 reduced to still simpler products, and eventually 

 amino-acids are left, which again may be subjected to 

 further reductions. 



It could, further, be easily shown that the cells of 

 the body are able to decompose into their structural 

 units the so-called polypeptides, that is, amino-acids 

 linked in the manner of acid amides. These ferments 

 have acquired the name of peptolytic ferments. Their 



