270 



Mary Davies Swartz, 



beans, graham and soldiers' bread and found 30.27 per cent to 76.79 

 per cent of the added cellulose digested. Lohrisch (55) finds that the 

 cellulose of a common vegetable diet disappears from the alimentary- 

 tract in large amounts, the actual quantity varying with the age, 

 source and tenderness of the cellulose. Thus he finds that for normal 

 individuals, of cellulose from lentils, 45 per cent is digestible; from 

 kohlrabi, 79.1 per cent; from white cabbage, 100 per cent. Under 

 abnormal conditions in the digestive tract, he has obtained the fol- 

 lowing results: 



CONDITION. 



CELLTJI.OSE UTILIZATION IN PER CENT. 



Normal 



Chronic Constipation 



Fermentation Dyspepsia 



Gastrogenic Diarrhea 



Fatty Faeces in Icterus 



Fatty Faeces in Disease of Pancreas 



57.9 

 81.4 

 37.8 

 29.5 



27.8 

 20.9 



According to Lohrisch, two diabetics on a cellulose-free diet, to 

 which white cabbage was added in quantities to yield about 6 per 

 cent of cellulose per day, digested 68.6 per cent and 84,5 per cent 

 respectively, without increased output of sugar in the urine. 



Since the only way to determine definitely the energy value to the 

 organism of such amounts of cellulose as are absorbed, is by means 

 of respiration experiments, Lohrisch (57) has performed such an expe- 

 riment on man, using the Zuntz-Geppert apparatus. In fasting, the 

 respiratory quotient averages about 0.76. After ingestion of carbo- 

 hydrates such as starch, it rises gradually in two to three hours, to 

 0,9-1.0, and when the carbohydrate has been consumed, sinks again 

 to a lower level. Since the respiratory quotient for fat is 0.7 and 

 for protein about 0.8, it is possible to determine in this way to what 

 extent the carbohydrate replaces protein and fat in metabolism. 

 Hence if cellulose is absorbed and oxidized as a carbohydrate, the res- 

 piratory quotient should rise. If it is decomposed by bacteria, the 

 respiratory quotient should not rise, since the theoretical respiratory 

 quotient fo^ fatty acids, such as butyric and acetic, is, according to 

 Munk (62) and Mallevre (60), 0.6 and 0.5 respectively. Now Loh- 

 risch, feeding a man moist cellulose equivalent to 73.6 grams of dry 

 substance, of which 25 per cent was digested (18.5 grams) obtained the 

 following results: 



