INGESTION OF CARBOHYDRATES. 243 



table, the averaging of the values is somewhat open to criticism; never- 

 theless they give a clear picture of the general course of the quotient 

 after the food was taken. The basal value of 0.85 was followed by a 

 rise to 0.99 within 20 minutes of the beginning of the experiments and 

 the maximum rise of 1.04 was obtained in 40 to 60 minutes. Between 

 the fifth and sixth hours the average quotient returned to essentially 

 the basal value. The quotients with levulose are therefore character- 

 ized by a sharp rise, with an average maximum rise of 18 points. The 

 maximum quotients ranged in the individual experiments from 11 

 points above the basal value in the experiment with C. H. H., May 16, 

 1911, to 23 points with L. E. E. on May 22, 1911. The number of res- 

 piratory quotients of 0.98 or over, showing a non-protein respiratory 

 quotient above 1, is very large, there being 19 in all. The highest 

 value observed was 1.11 and values as high as 1.09 and 1.07 are of 

 frequent occurrence. 



It is clear that there is a specific property of levulose that is markedly 

 different from dextrose in its effect on the metabolism, both quantita- 

 tively and (as is now seen) qualitatively. To what extent this is 

 determined by direct and rapid combustion, intermediary processes in 

 transformation to glycogen or fat, or to the stimulating action of inter- 

 mediary products may not at present be stated with surety. 



SUCROSE. 



A study of the respiratory quotients after the ingestion of sucrose is 

 given in table 181. The post-absorptive values for these experiments 

 ranged from 0.72 to 0.88, with an average value of 0.83. The general 

 course of the quotient after the ingestion of the carbohydrate was uni- 

 form for practically all of the experiments, i. e., an immediate marked 

 rise reaching the maximum usually inside of the first hour of the 

 experiment, this being followed by a continuous and slow return to 

 approximately the basal value. The number of quotients 0.98 or over 

 is 16. A considerable number of quotients of 1 or over appear inside of 

 the first 40 minutes, the average maximum of 1.03 occurring in the 20 

 to 40 minute period. 



The maximum rise in the quotient was reached in the experiment with 

 H. H. A. on January 2, 1912, when an increment of 33 points over the 

 basal was obtained. This is of special significance, as the subject had 

 an extraordinarily low initial quotient of 0.72, which was due to the 

 fact that he had just completed a series of experiments with a carbo- 

 hydrate-free diet and was in consequence supposedly in a glycogen- 

 poor condition. The course of the quotient in this experiment, which 

 showed an immediate great rise with a maximum inside of 40 minutes 

 and a subsequent period of 3 hours with quotients of 0.84 or above, is 

 somewhat difficult to explain. The fact that this man showed a less 

 severe degree of acidosis than usual on the carbohydrate-free diet is of 



