1915] Casimir Funk 321 



Sugar-free diet (percent — casein 12, starch 42, fat 42, salts 4) : 

 Glycogen, o; sugar, 0.26%. 



The latter diet, with addition of vitamlne: Glycogen, 0.6%; 

 sugar, 0.19%. 



We see, from the results of the above experiment, that, on 

 vitamine-free diets, marked hyperglycemia developed, with partial or 

 entire disappearance of hepatic glycogen. This result is especially 

 marked in the case of carbohydrate-free diets, and also on starch- 

 free diets, but is most pronounced on sugar-free diets. These 

 results seem to suggest that, in the absence of vitamine, synthesis of 

 glycogen from protein and fat is greatly diminished. The result 

 on a fat-free diet further shows that the presence of fat in the diet 

 prevents the formation of glycogen in the complete absence of 

 Vitamine. The addition of vitamine had a good effect in diminish- 

 ing the hyperglycemia and increasing the glycogen-content in the 

 liver. These studies will be extended to the action of adrenalin, 

 phlorhizin and thyroid-extract in animals on vitamine-free diets. 



Braddon and Cooper (38) confirmed my results regarding the 

 utilization of vitamine in carbohydrate metabolism. 



It was a Problem of great importance to determine whether 

 polished rice and vitamine form a " complete " diet. Although many 

 investigators accepted vitamine as a substance that is able to prevent 

 beriberi, some considered, however, that, for the maintenance of 

 body-weight, other complicated phosphorus Compounds are neces- 

 sary. By using the fraction I obtained recently from yeast, with 

 the acetone method, I was able (39) to eure very quickly, and to 

 induce an actual gain in weight, on a diet of polished rice. The 

 animals were kept in good health for a month, on repeated injec- 

 tions, with marked appetite for polished rice, so that the usual 

 forced feeding was unnecessary. The experiment had to be dis- 

 continued, after that length of time, because of lack of material and 

 also because of infections, as the vitamine Solution could not be 

 sterilized without risk of destroying its curative properties. 



Cooper found (12) that vitamine, when given in the form of 

 normal food, is not completely resorbed but a part of it appears in 

 the feces. Schaumann (27) learned that vitamine passes into the 

 circulation of some animals. It seems to me that this problem could 



