825 



not due to an intestinal fermentation, but to a transformation in the 

 organism. 



The earlier experiments of Boussingault, Persoz, and (»tli(Ms having 

 demonstrated that the animal may store ni> more fat than is rnrnished 

 in their food, the antlior accounts for the fact by supposing that glucose 

 is converted into fat in the organism accordiug to the following- equa- 

 tion : 



13CcH„O6=C55ni04OG+23CO.+2GH2O 



OssHiojOg represents oleo-stearo-palmatin, whicli is taken as the aver- 

 age composition of the fats. If we substitute tripalmatin or tiimar- 

 garin we arrive at tlgures almost identical. The equation shows 

 that 100 grams of glucose in being transformed into fat evolves 21.8 

 liters of carbonic acid. The author determined the respiration coefli- 

 cient of a person fasting, theu gave him a known (piantity of glucose 

 dissolved in a large quantity of water and measured the amount of car- 

 bonic acid exhaled and the oxygen absorbed during the time required 

 for the respiration coefticient to fall to what it was at the beginning of 

 the experiment. He calculated the amount of carbonic acid corres])ond- 

 ing to the oxygen absorbed, and the difference between carbonic acad 

 found and that calculated corresponded to the transformation of glucose 

 into fat as given by the above equation. The results of the experiments 

 were as follows : 



COj 



02 



Quantity Duration Total volume. Excess of COj 



of of 



At the beginning, glucose, experiment. Oj CO2 Found. Calculated. 



Chrama. Hr. Literg. Liters. Litert. Liters. 



0.82 48 4.30 60.05 58.85 9.65 10.46 



*- 0.86 73 4.40 74.25 79.90 16.15 15.94 



0.83 23 4.10 59.40 54.95 5.65 5.01 



The excess of carbonic acid found approximates the theoretical 

 amount as closely as might be expected in the dift'erent experiments. 

 The length of time required for the transformation of the glucose was 

 almost the same whatever the amount of glucose absorbed. Variations 

 were confined to the respiration coefficient, which was raised to 1.3 by 

 an absorption of 350 grams of glucose. It was found best, however, 

 to use an amount of glucose not exceeding 75 grams. 



It appears then that the glucose introduced into the organism does 

 not simply undergo combustion or transformation into glycogen, but 

 is converted quantitatively into fat. 



In another communication in the near future the author i)roposes to 

 submit additional data in confirmation of this i)roi)osition. 



Contribution to the knowledge of sumac, W. Eitner {Der Ger- 



her 18 {18!)3), p. 51; abs. in Gliem. Ztg., 1893, rep. p. 5*5).— Reference is 

 made to the investigations of Macagno which showed that the tannin 

 in sumac leaves varies during the season, rising to a maximum and 

 then gradually diminishing as the season advances. Macagno is quoted 



