40 FOOD IXGESTION AND ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS. 



the ingestion of food, Gigon points out that in the glucose experiments 

 the course of the nitrogen and the phosphoric-pentoxide excretion is 

 practically uninfluenced by dextrose. 



His observations on the ingestion of fat are of special significance, 

 for at least 2 experiments with 50 grams of olive oil showed a distinct 

 depression of the basal metabolism. With 150 grams of oil the metab- 

 olism was slightly above the basal value. Contrary to the experience 

 in most laboratories, with a change to a fat diet Gigon noted that there 

 was a decrease in the nitrogen excretion in the urine. This depression 

 of the metabolism is explained by Gigon as being due to the fact that 

 even during fasting there is always a certain amount of Verdauungsar- 

 beit, and that the ingestion of oil depresses this, thus affecting the basal 

 value. A careful theoretical discussion is given of the two prevailing 

 views regarding the cause for the increased heat production after food, 

 namely, the Verdauungsarbeit theory of Zuntz and the specific dynamic 

 action theory of Rubner. 



In discussing the carbohydrate ingestion, Gigon points out that his 

 experiments usually show that there is no increase in the respiratory 

 quotient and that the increase in the gaseous exchange noted must be 

 due to a cause other than an increased combustion of sugar; in most of 

 Gigon's experiments there is little basis for the theory of fat formation 

 from sugar. In discussing the increase following protein disintegra- 

 tion, Gigon concludes that the total protein disintegration does not 

 exceed that of the nuchtern value, and that in all probability there is 

 considerable fat formation from protein, together with a small carbo- 

 hydrate formation. 



Finally, following the general contention of Johansson, Gigon main- 

 tains that the food is first deposited in the body in different depots, 

 which, in turn, furnish the energy for cellular activity. Since these 

 depots must in large part rely upon fat formation, Gigon points out 

 that there is probably a considerable fat formation and that fat plays 

 a larger role in the metabolism than has heretofore been supposed. 



Holly and Undeutsch, 1911-13. Employing the universal respiration 

 apparatus devised in the Nutrition Laboratory, although in a modified 

 and unnecessarily complicated form, Roily and his associate Undeutsch 

 made several normal experiments with women in connection with some 

 of their work in pathology. In reporting the results of 1 basal experi- 

 ment and 3 food experiments, Roily 1 discusses the respiratory quotient 

 and attempts to explain what he considers to be a very noticeable rise. 

 It is a fundamental error to lay much stress, as Roily has done, upon 

 a single previously determined basal value. Furthermore, contrary to 

 Rolly's opinion, a nuchtern quotient of 0.819 is not high, as experiments 

 with 68 women in the Nutrition Laboratory gave an average respira- 

 tory quotient of 0.81. In common with the findings of other experi- 



'Rolly, Deutseh. Arch. f. klin. Med., 1911-12, 105, p. 494. 



