Nutrition Investigations. 313 



Hawaiian Seaweeds. 



Beside the dulse preparation, three seaweeds have been included in 

 this group which yielded little or no soluble carbohydrates, namely, 

 Limu Lipoa {Haliseris pardalis), Limu Eleele {Enteromorpha intesti- 

 nalis) and Limu Pahapaha {Ulva lactiica, etc.). 



Limu Lipoa. Limu Lipoa contained a small amount of non-muci- 

 laginous carbohydrate, soluble in cold water as well as hot. It was 

 precipitated by alcohol, in which it came down as a white fibrous 

 mass. On hydrolysis, it yielded a dextro-rotatory fermenting sugar; 

 a test with phenylhydrazin acetate for mannose was negative, as were 

 tests for pentosans. The total amount of this carbohydrate was so 

 small as to be almost negligible, as far as feeding experiments were 

 concerned, hence the original washed material was used, after grinding 

 to a powder in a coffee mill. It contained a very high percentage of 

 inorganic matter because the thalli were so encrusted with calcareous 

 substances, that it was impossible to remove them entirely by washing. 

 This preparation gave a strong furfurol test, and a single quantitative 

 test for pentosans gave the following results: 



The sample, weighing 1 gram, contained 10.5 per cent moisture and 

 18.5 per cent ash. It yielded 0.161 grams of phloroglucid, which 

 according to Krober's tables i is equivalent to 0.147 grams pentosans, 

 or 14.7 per cent of the crude substance. 



Tests for starch and reducing sugar were negative. Only a minute 

 quantity of mucic acid was obtained; a quantity too small to purify 

 and determine the melting point. The products of hydrolysis showed 

 slight fermentation, which was doubtless due to the mannan of the 

 water-extract. 



A determination of the reducing power made in the same manner 

 as already described, gave the results: 



TIME OF BOILING. SUGAR AS DEXTROSE. 



Hours. Per cent. 



1| Very little 



3 , 14.3 



4 14.7 

 6 12.9 

 8 12.8 



Limu Eleele. Limu Eleele yielded no appreciable amount of water- 

 soluble carbohydrate, even after boiling 3 or 4 hours. The dried 



' Zeitschrift fiir physiologische Chemie, XXXVI, appendix. 



