1917] FOODS HUMAN NUTEITION. 365 



601-605). — Experiments with two men accustomed to a moderate use of alco- 

 holic beverages showed that the substitution, in an otherwise fixed diet, of 

 alcoliol for isodynamic amounts of sucrose yielding about 370 calories of en- 

 ergy, produced no significant clianges in urinary nitrogen partition. 



Concerning the utilization of inosit in the animal organism, I, II (Neio 

 York State Sta. Tech. Bui. 54 {1916), pp. 3-16; Jour. Biol. Chem., 25 {1916), 

 No. S, pp. 391-407). — Two papers are presented. 



I. Concerning the effect of inosit upon the respiratory exchange in the dog, 

 R. J. Anderson. — The woric of other investigators having shown that inosit 

 given per mouth is either largely destroyed by bacteria in the intestine or else 

 oxidized in the body, determinations were made of the respiratory quotient of 

 laboratory animals (dogs) which in a fasting condition were fed inosit just 

 previous to the experiment, in order to throw further light upon the fate of 

 inosit in the animal organism. The experiments showed that inosit was not 

 utilized to any extent by the dog, and that it was not stored or oxidized in 

 the body, the greater part (as much as 77 per cent of the amount given) being 

 excreted unchanged. When given per mouth at the rate of 2 gm. per kilogram 

 of body weight no rise in the respiratory quotient was noted. Only a small 

 portion of the inosit was found to be excreted by the kidneys. 



II. The effect of inosit upon the metabolism of man, R. J. Anderson and 

 A. W. Bosworth. — Experiments were made with human subjects to determine 

 whether the ingestion of inosit influences the metabolism of man, as shown by 

 the nitrogen and phosphorus excretion, and also to study the fate of inosit in 

 the human body and its channels of elimination. The results of this investi- 

 gation are summarized by the authors as follows : 



" It is shown that when inosit is taken at the rate of about 0.5 gm. per kilo- 

 gram of body weight per day it produces some diarrhea at first or frequent soft 

 stools. After a few days the stools, although more frequent than usual, are 

 nearly of normal consistency. 



" Except for the increased excretion of creatinin in the after period, for 

 which we can now offer no explanation, we find that the ingestion of inosit 

 has no marked or appreciable effect upon the general metabolism of man. 

 About 9 per cent of the inosit taken per os is eliminated unchanged in the 

 urine, but none in the feces. In what manner the balance, or about 91 per 

 cent, of the inosit is utilized we have not been able to determine." 



The distribution of the lipoids (" fat ") in human blood, W. R. Bloou 

 {Jour. Biol. Chem., 25 {1916), No. 3, pp. 577-599) .—The data reported in this 

 paper are based upon complete analyses of the lipoids in the blood of 23 normal 

 and 25 abnormal individuals. The author states that the term lipoids " is used 

 as a general term for all those substances connected with the metabolism of 

 the fatty acids, including the fatty acids, their naturally occurring compounds, 

 and such substances as cholesterol which occur naturally in combination with 

 the fatty acids and which are therefore presumably connected with their 

 metabolism." 



A bibliography is appended. 



The urinary and fecal output of calcium in normal men together with 

 observations on the hydrogen ion concentration of urine and feces, C F. 

 Nelson and J. L. Willaams {Jour. Biol. Chem., 28 {1916), No. 1, pp. 231r- 

 236). — From observations made during five days upon five normal male indi- 

 viduals, ranging from 13 to 70 years of age, the extreme daily variations in 

 the output of calcium (calculated as oxid) were found to be in the urinary ex- 

 cretion from 0.1754 to 0.6186 gm. and in the fecal excretion from 0.4125 to 

 0.801. The subjects of the experiments were maintained upon a mixed diet, 

 which was in no way modified or restricted for the purpose of the experiment. 



