764 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 41 



. That no apprciable trouble was caused by the restricted amount of nitrogen 

 is attributed by the author apparently to the successful distribution of the pro- 

 tein of the ration from the point of view of the various constituents of the 

 protein molecule. It was estimated that of 100 gm. of protein ingested, 49 gm. 

 was in the form of gliadin-glutenin (bread and flour), 23.3 as casein and milk 

 albumin (cheese), 16.3 as various animal proteins (meat and fish), and 11.5 

 as vegetable proteins (beets and potatoes). It is pointed out that in spite of the 

 meagerness of the diet none of the indispensable amino acids were missing. 



Studios on the behavior of inulin in the animal body. — II, Inulin in the 

 alimentary canal, R. Okey (Join: Biol. Chem., 30 {1919), No. 1, pp. 1^9-162, 

 figs. 2). — This paper is a continuation of the investigation previously noted 

 (E. S. R., 41, p. 12). The study of the behavior of inulin in the alimentary 

 canal deals with (1) the hydrolysis of inulin in vitro by concentrations of 

 hydrochloric acid comparable to those in normal gastric juice, (2) the action 

 of gastric juice on inulin in vivo, and (3) the demonstration of the presence of 

 an inulase in fecal extracts. 



The results of hydrolysis of inulin in vivo and in vitro indicate that, wliile 

 the acidity of the gastric juice is usually sufficient to produce a fair degree of 

 hydrolysis, inulin is seldom retained in the stomach long enough to be changed 

 to levulose. The presence of an enzym capable of producing a reducing sugar 

 from inulin was demonstrated in sterile extracts of three samples of human 

 feces from radically different diets. The marked gas formation which always 

 follows inulin digestion is thought to indicate that further decomposition of the 

 reducing sugar thus formed takes place so rapidly that appreciable absorption 

 is impossible. 



Studies of the gastric residuum. — III, Amino-acid nitrogen, R. Cessna and 

 C. C. Fowler {Jour. Biol. Chem., 39 {1919), No. 1, pp. 25-28).— In continuation 

 of the studies by Fowler previoiisly noted (E. S. R., ,S9. p. 670), determinations 

 are reported of the amino-acid nitrogen content of tlie gastric residuums of 

 25 apparently normal young women and one apparently normal man. For pur- 

 poses of comparison the total and free acidity, pepsin, and trypsin were also 

 determined. 



The amount of amino-acid nitrogen was in all cases higher than the values 

 reported by Carlson^ and other observers, the average content being 31.86 mg. 

 per 100 cc. The amount apparently bears no relationship to acidity or pepsin 

 or trypsin content. 



The amount of fat and lipoid in the blood in the Tropics (Meded. Gencesk. 

 Lab. Weltevreden [Dutch East Indies], 3. So: A, No. 2-3 {1919), pp. 29-67, pi. 

 1). — ^Two papers are presented. 



I. Chemical analysis, by F. and E. Weehuizen and C. Alting (pp. 29-43). — 

 Tlie authors discuss Bang's micro method for determination of blood lipoids 

 (E. S. R., 41, p. 116) and propo.se certain modifications in the process. 



II. Physiological chemical part, by C. D. de Langen and H. Schut (pp. 

 44-67). — Analytical data based on determinations by the method noted above 

 are presented of the fat and lipoid content of blood of normal persons and 

 those suffering from various diseases, including beriberi. The amount of 

 total fat found in the blood of normal persons varied between 1.5 and 2 per 

 cent. In fever-free malaria patients and in tuberculous patients the figures 

 for fat approached the higher level, while in cases of beriberi the amount of 

 fat was very low. 



The authors suggest the possible influence of the lipochrome lutein on beri- 

 beri, pointing out that in patients with beriberi the amount of lutein is gen- 



lAmor. .Tour. Physiol., .S8 (1915), No. 2, 24S-26S. 



