30 



FOOD INGESTION AND ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS. 



quotient reached its highest point in 2 hours. Falloise and Dubois 

 then studied the quotient 2 hours after a meal predominating in fat; 

 abnormally low respiratory quotients were obtained. Two hours after 

 the ingestion of 60 grams of glucose the authors found that the quo- 

 tients tended to approach unity but never quite reached it, the average 

 of 6 experiments 2 hours after 60 grams of glucose giving a quotient of 

 0.90. The oxygen consumption with a basal value of 4.85 c.c. per 

 kilogram per minute rose to 5.16 c.c. 2 hours after a mixed diet, and 

 to 4.4 c.c. and 4.6 c.c. in experiments 2 hours after a fat diet and 2 

 hours after 60 grams of glucose, respectively. The fact that the last 

 two series of observations gave values lower than the basal value throws 

 considerable doubt upon the accuracy of the experiments. 



Johansson, Landergren, Sondn, and Tigerstedt, 1897. In their 

 research on metabolism during fasting, Johansson, Landergren, SondeX 

 and Tigerstedt, 1 using the large Sonden-Tigerstedt respiration chamber 

 in Stockholm, planned the experiments in such a way that comparisons 

 showing the influence of food were readily made. Thus, with charac- 

 teristic foresight, the research was planned to include 2 days with 

 usual diet, 5 days of fasting, and finally 2 days with the ordinary diet. 

 The carbon-dioxide excretion was de- 

 termined in 11 successive 2-hour periods 

 and careful analyses were made of the 

 food and excreta. Since on the first 

 food day the carbon-dioxide produc- 

 tion was determined for only the night 

 period, there remain but 3 food days of 

 22 hours each that can be used for com- 

 parison. The food consisted of bread, 

 butter, cheese, meat, beer, milk, 

 potatoes, bouillon, etc., with a protein 

 content per day varying from 148 to 

 223 grams, a fat content of 238 to 263 

 grams, and a carbohydrate content of 

 261 to 283 grams. The separation of 

 the carbon-dioxide production into periods of awake and asleep shows 

 that these authors recognized thus early the significance of securing 

 the most advantageously comparable periods, namely, when there 

 was complete muscular repose during sleep. The average values given 

 for the carbon-dioxide production per 2-hour period for the 9 days are 

 shown in table 5. Since the carbon-dioxide production was determined 

 in 2-hour periods, it was possible to study the diurnal variations. The 

 average values found for these periods on the food days and fasting 

 days are therefore compared in table 6. 



TABLE 5. Carbon-dioxide production 

 after food and during fast (Johansson 

 and associates). (2-hour periods.) 



Johansson, Landergren, Sond6n, and Tigerstedt, Skand. Arch. f. Physiol., 1897, 7, p. 29. 



