3i8 



Bulletin 240. 



Dr. Lafayette B. IMendel of Yale University, who has given some 

 attention to the analysis of different mushrooms from the standpoint of 

 their nutritive value as food for man, kindly offered to analyze some of 

 the liquids containing fermented mushroom prepared in the same way 

 and at the same time as that used as " fermented " mushroom in these 

 experiments. I here quote from his report, — 



" Aly attention was first directed to the character and relative 

 amounts of the nitrogenous constituents in solution. The filtered fer- 

 mented infusions were examined quantitatively for total nitrogen content 

 (Kjeldahl's method) ; nitrogen in the form of ammonium compounds 

 (Folin's method) ; nitrogen in the form of compounds of albuminoid 

 nature, precipitable by tannic acid (by the method of Hedin : Jour. 

 Physiol. XXX ). The solutions were practically neutral to litmus and 

 therefore contained no free ammonia at the time they were examined. 

 The analytical data are summarized in the following table : 



Summary of Analyses of the Soluble " Fermentation Products" 



Nitrogenous Compounds 



It will be noted that the bulk of the nitrogen is represented by com- 

 pounds not precipitated by tannic acid, such as amino-acids, amides, 

 diamines, etc., in addition to the ammonia nitrogen (easily available) 

 which I estimated separately and which is not so abundant relatively. I 

 made no search for the possible occurrence of nitrates. 



The fluids contain no tryptophan and only traces, if any, of indol 

 and skatol. I have searched for the types of sulphur compounds present, 

 by the methods pursued in my laboratory by Rettger: American Journ. 

 Physiol., viii, 284. Alercaptan was not found ; but traces of hydrogen 

 sulphide were present in each case. I was quite surprised to find a con- 

 siderable quantity of sulphates in the fluids. 



The solutions contain volatile fatty acids which furnish a part of the 

 available carbon in the culture medium. 



