660 EXPEEIMEXT STATION RECORD. [Vol.41 



of fat-soluble A in the diet of the adult and the connection between the metab- 

 olism of fat-soluble A and the fat of the diet. 



Feeding experiments conducted according to the method described above 

 indicate that the adult animal organism requires a regular supply of fat-soluble 

 A which is much smaller than the requirement of the young growing animal, 

 but is an important factor in the maintenance of health. " It appears probable 

 that the resistance to diseases of bacterial origin is seriously impaired by a 

 failure of the animal to obtain a sufficient supply of the fat-soluble factor. 

 There is therefore every reason that great care should be taken to insure that 

 dietaries of adults contain an adequate supply of foodstuffs in which fat-soluble 

 A is present." 



The symptoms associated with a deficiency of fat-soluble A appear in com- 

 parable groups of rats after the same period of time whether the diet contains 

 neutral fat or not. This, together with the fact that fatty acids are absorbed 

 and synthesized into fats, and fats are absorbed in the absence of fat-soluble A, 

 is thought to indicate, indirectly, that pure neutral fats may be dispensable com- 

 ponents of the diet. 



Note on the role of the antiscorbutic factor in nutrition, J. C. Detjmmond 

 {Biochem. Jour., IS (1919), No. 1, pp. 77-80). — Feeding experiments with rats 

 through two generations are reported, which confirm the conclusions reported 

 by Harden and Zilva (E. S. R., 41, p. 171) that "the rat requires the anti- 

 scorbutic factor in order to achieve a normal development, and that although 

 the requirements of this species are of a very much smaller order than those 

 exhibited by man, the monkey, or the guinea pig, they are sufficiently well 

 marked to dispel any idea that there exists a fundamental difference fn the 

 nutritive requirements of the two types of animal. 



" It may thei-efore be accepted as experimentally proven that the dietary 

 requirements of the higher animals include in addition to a satisfactorily 

 balanced ration of protein, fat, carbohydrate, and mineral salts, an adequate 

 supply of three accessory food factors: Fat-soluble A, water-soluble B or 

 iintineuritic factor, and water-soluble C or antiscorbutic factor." 



The antiscorbutic property of fruits. — I, An experimental study of dried 

 orang'e juice, M. H. Givens and H. B. McClugage (Amcr. Jour. Diseancs Chil- 

 dren, 18 {1919), No. 1, pp. 30-41, fiQs. Jf). — Dried orange juice was tested for 

 antiscorbutic properties by means of feeding experiments with guinea pigs, the 

 Irasal diet being that described in an earlier study (E. S. 11., 40, p. 762). The 

 orange juice w-as dried in two different ways as follows : 



For one product, the juice was expressed from the oranges and strained 

 through several layers of cheese cloth until a clear filtrate was obtained. This 

 was concentrated to about two-thirds the original volume Ity heating in the 

 drier at from 55 to 60° C, using 100 cc. portions in small shallow dishes. Soy 

 bean flour, previously heated under 20 lbs. pressui'e for one-half hour, was then 

 added in the proportion of 12 gm. to lOQ cc. of the original juice and mixed thor- 

 oughly. The mixture was kept in the drier at from 55 to 60° until thoroughly 

 dried, the whole process requiring about 50 hours. 



For the other product, the juice was dehydrated ■ by a commercial process 

 employed for making milk powder. The juice was pressed from the oranges, 

 strained, mixed with corn sirup, and dried by spraying into a chamber kept at 

 from 75 to 80° C. In this process the juice was dried almost instantaneously. 



The results obtained with these products as antiscorbutics indicate that expe- 

 rimental scurvy in the guinea pig can either be averted or cured by the use of 

 a small amount of dried orange juice, the size of the dose depending upon the 

 manner of drying the juice. With the second product, a dose equivalent to 3 



