lOloj Chemistky of Diet 187 



ratories, and part of it was in progress while I was there. It 

 was a common sight in those days to see the Japanese investiga- 

 tor, T. Saiki, eating great hands full of these dry celluloses, 

 without accompaniment. His published results are doubtless 

 familiar to you. In conducting some of these experiments 

 upon myself during recent weeks, I happened to observe that 

 my formerly always low indican coefficient was now alarming- 

 ly high. ^Naturally I looked for the cause, and think I have 

 found it in the agar feeding. On discontinuing the agar agar 

 my indicanuria dropped. On taking up the diet again it re- 

 curred. Furthermore, I have confirmed this fact with a half 

 dozen to a dozen cases. Though this is not a large number 

 I am convinced of the observation because I have had a hun- 

 dred per cent, positive results. I am giving you this as a new 

 set of facts. It is to me extremely interesting that a substance 

 that has been fed for the purpose of removal of putrefactive 

 products has caused a high absorbtion of the chief of these, 

 indol. I wish you to regard this as a preliminary statement, 

 only. I cannot explain it yet. 



I have here for your interest a set of indican 

 tubes taken from a typical case such as I have men- 

 tioned. The tubes begin with normal days and end with normal 

 days, including in the series one or two days following only one 

 day of feeding ten grams of agar agar with a common break- 

 fast cereal and milk. I might say that I have in progress a set 

 of experiments to show the effect of feeding various agar prep- 

 arations and "agar bread." The absorbtion of indoxyl has al- 

 ways been prompt and its elimination equally so. Certain 

 cases, however, have led me to expect that the condition of 

 indicanuria may persist for many days. I solicit your criti- 

 cisms, suggestions and explanations of this phenomenon. 



There is yet another relationship between the protein of the 

 diet and indicanuria to which I would call your attention. Aside 

 from all other considerations, the formation of indol must come 

 from the protein. Several years ago. Dr. Osborne and myself 

 have shown that certain proteins, like gliadin, do not give the 

 tryptophane reaction. That is, they do not contain it, or only in 



