VIII. — Thk Diastatic Action of Saliva, as Modified by various 

 Conditions, Studied Quantitatively. By R. H. Chittenden 

 AND Herbert E. Smith. 



The chemical changes resulting irom the action of unorganized 

 ferments are among the most interesting and important of those 

 which occur in the animal organism. Ferment action plays such an 

 important part in the chemical processes incident to life that definite 

 knowledge of the conditions favorable and inimical to the action of 

 any ferment occurring in the animal body must necessarily be of 

 great physiological value. 



Since Leuchs in 1831 discovered the diastatic action of saliva 

 much has been learned regarding this digestive fluid, both as to 

 its chemical action and the nature of the products formed. Still 

 thei-e has been lacking, until recently, definite knowledge of the 

 conditions which influence the diastatic action of the salivary fer- 

 ment, and it has been the object of the present investigation, taking 

 advantage of previously acquired knowledge, to ascertain the exact 

 influence of those conditions which suggest themselves as being most 

 important in view of the destination of the ptyalin, and concerning 

 which there has been of late a lack of agreement. 



Method used in determining the rate of diastatic action. 

 In testing the rate of action of the salivary ferment we have in all 

 cases employed quantitative methods, similar in their general nature 

 to those previously used by one of us,* The amount of reducing sub- 

 stances Ibrmed by the amylolytic action of the ferment, which for the 

 sake of convenience we have calculated as dextrose, admit of accurate 

 determination by means of the improved Allihn'sf method, and thus 

 enable us to give a concise expression of the relative diastatic action, 

 even in those cases where the differences are very slight. As recent 

 experiments]; have plainly indicated, the ultimate product of the dias- 



* Chitteaden and G-riswold, Amer. Chem. Jour., iii, 305. Chittenden and Ely, ibid, 

 iv, 107. 



f Zeitschrift fiir analytische Chemie, 22 Jahrgang, p. 448. 



\ V. Mering and Musculus, Zeitschrift, fiir pliysiologische Chemie, i, 395. 0. Sulli- 

 van and E. Schultze, Berichte d. deutsch. Chem. Gesell., vii, 1047. Musculus and 

 Grruber, Zeitschrift fiir physiolog. Chemie. ii, 177. v. Mering, Zeitschrift fiir physi- 

 olog. Chem., v, 196. 



Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. VI. 43 March, 1885. 



