VITAMIN C 203 



In a more extensive investigation of the development of antiscor- 

 butic properties in legumes on germination Qiick and Delf (1919) 

 found, as had Hoist and Frolich, that dry legumes had very slight 

 antiscorbutic value since scurvy developed only after a longer time 

 and in a less acute form with these seeds than writh cereals. Dry green 

 peas after soaking for 24 hours in water at room temperature showed 

 no increase in antiscorbutic properties. Soaked lentils were slightly 

 higher in antiscorbutic value than soaked peas. In this connection it 

 was noted that in a given weight of lentils there are many more indi- 

 vidual seeds than in the same weight of peas. After 48 hours of 

 germination at room temperature the antiscorbutic value of the soaked 

 seeds was increased from 3 to 6 times. Some degree of protection was 

 secured with 2.5 grams daily (dry weight 1.29 grams) of both lentils 

 and peas, and complete protection with 10 grams daily. Cooking the 

 germinated lentils in water even for as short a time as 15 minutes 

 caused a loss of about 75 per cent in antiscorbutic value. 



Even with the unavoidable losses in cooking, germinated seeds con- 

 tinued to be considered an important antiscorbutic. In the memorandum 

 on the Importance of Accessory Factors in the Food issued by the 

 British Committee on Accessory Food Factors in June 1919 for the 

 guidance of those engaged in the administration of food relief to 

 famine stricken districts, the use of germinated seeds in the preven- 

 tion of scurvy is given prominence. "If fresh vegetables or fruit are 

 scarce or absent, an anti-scorbutic food can be prepared by moistening 

 any available seeds (wheat, barley, rye, peas, beans, lentils) and allow- 

 ing them to germinate. . . . The seeds should be soaked in water for 

 24 hours and kept moist with access of air for from one to three 

 days, by which time they will have sprouted. This sprouted material 

 possesses an antiscorbutic value equal to that of fresh vegetables and 

 should be cooked in the ordinary way for as short a time as possible." 

 The British Committee points out that the legume dhall is a staple 

 Indian article of food, and had it been known that this could be made 

 an effective antiscorbutic through simple sprouting, the great losses 

 and suffering due to scurvy among Indian troops in the Mesopotamian 

 campaign might have been avoided. 



Renewed interest in the synthesis of vitamin C in seeds on germi- 

 nation was occasioned by the observations of Parsons of which one 

 interpretation is that rats and possibly other species of animals may 

 synthesize vitamin C. Inasmuch as grains constituted part of the diets 

 of the rats used in the experiments upon which these observations 

 were based, it occurred to Honeywell and Steenbock (1924) that possi- 



