1920] FOODS HUMAN NUTRITION. ' 7G9 



ence of which is assdciiited with a iniiiiniimi aiiiouiit of putro fact ion ami the 

 general well-being of the individual. Wliciiifr hiilf/dricii.s nrilk or fresh swiH't 

 milk is preferable deiiciids upon the conditions. If the? siil)ject is oonstipatwl 

 the huUjaricus milk may prove vej-y lielpful. i)\\ the other hand, some individ- 

 uals apparently do not tolerate acid milk, and in such cases the .sweet milk 

 would be best. Approximately 3 to 4 qts. should be used daily, in half-pint 

 quantities taken every hour or two. Other foods should be reduced proportion- 

 ately, and in certain cases it may prove advisable to leave them out entirely 

 and increase the milk to 4 or even G qts.. depending on the needs of tlie patient. 



"There may be conditions when it is advisable to have in the intestines at 

 once large numbers of the B. acidophilus. It seems that a fermented milk pre- 

 pared with B. acidopliUus would be admirably suited for such needs. Instead 

 of using the bulgnricus culture an acidophilus culture could be used, thus provid- 

 ing both the essential factors, milk and the large numbers of the desirable or- 

 ganism which is a natural inhabitant of the intestinal tract." 



Studies on the transformation of the intestinal (lora, with special refer- 

 ence to the implantation of Bacillus acidophilus. — I, Feeding, experiments 

 with albino rats, H. A. Cheplin and L. F. Kettgek (I'roc. Xut. Acad. Sd.. 6 

 (1920), No. 7, pp. J,23-Jf26) .—This is a brief repoft of experimental work with 

 white rats in attempts to alter the intestinal flora by the feeding of different 

 sugars and by the direct implantation of B. acidophilus and B. huUjaricus. 



Tlie addition to the basal diet of bread and meat of 2 gm. daily of lactose or 

 dextrin caused a very pronounced transformation in the intestinal flora of the 

 rats, B. acidophilus displacing practically all the other bacterial types. The 

 addition of 1 gm. of lactose or dextrin brought about a partial transformation 

 never exceeding 50 per cent. Maltose, sucrose, and glucose did not alter the 

 types of bacteria present. It is pointed out tiiat these results are in agreement 

 with those of Hull and Rettger previously noted (E. S. R., 36, p. 664). 



The addition of 1 cc. of B. acidophilus suspension of 1 gm. to lactose or dex- 

 trin, or the administration of 2 cc. daily of B. acidophilus culture without the 

 carbohydrates, produced the same effect as the feeding of 2 gm. of lactose or 

 dextrin. Repeated attempts to establish B. huhjaricus in the alimentary canal 

 of rats through the administration of as much as 5 cc. of suspension of the 

 organism were entirely unsuccessful. 



In di.scussing the bearing of these findings on the Metchnikoff sour milk 

 therapy, attention is called to the fact that milk, when given in suflicient 

 amounts, causes rapid development of B. acidophilus in the intestine, resulting 

 at times in the complete suppression of other forms of bacteria. The sugge.s- 

 tion is made that what Metchnikoff and his pupils regarded as B. bulgaricus in 

 the feces of animals and of liuman subjects was really B. acidophilus. 



" The feeding of B. bulgaricus without due regard to the use of milk can have 

 little or no importance attached to it. The beneficial results which have been 

 attributed to yogurt and other oriental sour-milk products have in all probability 

 been due to the milk as such rather than to the acid-producing bacteria con- 

 tained in these products." 



Evidence indicating a synthesis of cholesterol by infants, J. L. G.xmri.e 

 and K. D. Blackfan (Jour. Biol. Chem., 42 (1920), No. 3, pp. -i0i-.}09).— Deter- 

 minations of the cholesterol intake and excretion of four infants over periods 

 of three days showed in all cases a nmch larger excretion than intake, thus indi- 

 cating a synthesis of cholesterol within the organism. 



The method of determining cholesterol in the milk consisted essentially in 

 saponifying the sample with potassium hjdroxid and separating the nousapouj- 



