470 EXPEKIMEISTT STATION llECORD. [Vol. 41 



power feebler than normal. The reaction of the saliva in pellagra was some- 

 what more alkaline than that of normal saliva. 



Medical studies in E-oumania during the war, especially the treatment and 

 etiology of pellagra, L. Kulz (Arch. Schiffs u. Tropen Hyg., 22 (1918), No. 

 22-23, pp. Jj01-Jf30). — Several diseases intensified by war conditions in Rou- 

 mania are discussed. These include typhus, malaria, dysentery, scurvy, pella- 

 gra, and other diseases of minor importance. The author attributes the large 

 number of cases of pellagra to the extensive consumption of corn, three factors 

 being considered responsible for determining the incidence of the disease: 

 (1) The amount of corn consumed, (2) the quality of the corn, and (3) indi- 

 vidual susceptibility. It is pointed out that when corn forms only a small 

 fraction of the diet pellagra does not occur, but that increase in the amount of 

 corn consumed is invariably accompanied by an increase in pellagra. All corn, 

 even fresh, is thought to contain the substance which is the primai-y cause of 

 the disease, but the amount of this toxic substance increases as the corn dete- 

 riorates so that a much smaller amount of spoiled than of fresh corn is neces- 

 sary to produce the disease. Individual variations in susceptibility are illus- 

 trated by the fact that not all members of the family on the same diet become 

 pellagrous. In treating the disease, the author recommends the elimination of 

 corn from the diet and the administration of iron, iodin, and arsenic, the latter 

 in the form of neosalvarsan. 



Studies of experiir^ental scurvy. — Effect of heat on the antiscorbutic prop- 

 erties of some milk products, E. B. Haet, H. Steenbock, and D. W. Smith 

 (Jour. Biol. Chem., 38 (1919), No. 2, pp. 305-32^, figs. 20).— The authors report 

 studies of experimental scurvy In guinea pigs, the results of which confirm the 

 conclusions of Chick, Hume, and Skelton (\^. S. R., 40, p. 272) on the quantita- 

 tive relation of raw milk consumption to the development of a scorbutic condi- 

 tion in the guinea pig, and refute the hypothesis of McCollum and Pitz (E. S. R., 

 38, p. 568) that scurvy is related to intestinal putrefaction and retention of the 

 feces. In addition, data are given indicating that commercial condensed milks, 

 commercial milk powders, and milk sterilized for 10 minutes at 120° C. do not 

 possess antiscorbutic properties when used in quantities equivalent to an amount 

 of raw milk which would prevent scurvy in guinea pigs on a diet of rolled oats 

 and dried hay. 



The antiscorbutic properties of concentrated fruit juices (Jour. Boy. Army 

 Med. Corps, 32 (1919), No. 1, pp. 48-56). — In the first part of this paper, by A. 

 Harden and R. Robison, feeding experiments with guinea pigs are reported 

 which show that the antiscorbutic principle in orange juice is not volatilized 

 when the juice is distilled at 40° C. under reduced pressure. The solid residue 

 obtained by this process was found to have strong antiscorbutic properties which 

 were not appreciably diminished on keeping the substance in a dry atmosphere 

 at room tempcratnre for six months. 



In the second part, by R. Robison, an extension of the investigation to other 

 fruit juices is i-eported. Lime juice concentrated in the Kestner evaporator 

 under reduced pi'essure was found to retain nearly all of its antiscorbutic 

 value, although the acidity of the concentrated juice rendered it rather unsatis- 

 factoiy in the guinea pig experiments. Apple juice concentrated in the same 

 manner to about one-sixth of its original volume formed a soft palatable jelly 

 of valuable antiscorbutic properties, although not in the same degree as the 

 dried orange juice. 



The general use of fruit jellies prepared by this or similar processes is 

 recommended as a substitute for ordinary jams or jellies wherever there is 

 reason to suspect that the diet is deficient in the antiscorbutic principle. 



