DIGESTIBILITY OF BEE ADS. 



71 



of the baking powders on the amylolytic and proteolytic ferments of pancreatic fluid 

 must be most marked, since the powders have very decided retarding influence on the 

 pancreatic digestion of bread (see Tables 4, 5 and 6, Div. A, Series I). 



0. 



The Influence of Alum and of the Decomposition Products of Some 

 Baking Powders on the Digestion of Starch. 



From the experiments recorded in Divisions A and B it appears that by the decomposi- 

 tion of the phosphate and akim baking powders, salts are formed which decidedly retard 

 the action of the digestive ferments. Moreover, the almost unanimous verdict of these 

 experiments is that the alum powder produces salts of greater retarding power than the 

 phosphate, while there is a very marked retardation of both these mixtures over the 

 tartaric acid powder. Now, as the salts formed by these powders are well known, it 

 seemed of great interest to a.sGertain to which of them this power of hindering digestion 

 is due. Experiments to elucidate more fully this important part of the question will form 

 the subject of a future paper. In the meantime the following series will indicate the 

 effects of the salts on one of the ferments, viz., the diastatic ferment of the saliva. 



Series I. — Tlie Influence of the Salts produced by the Decomposition of Certain Baking Powders 



on the Amylolytic Action of Saliva. 



The purity of each salt was carefully ascertained and the percentage of each in 

 dried powder was taken and dissolved or made into an emulsion with a small quantity 

 of water. To this was added a 1 % solution of starch, 2 c.c. of filtered mixed saliva 

 added, and the whole made up to 60 c.c. with the starch solution. Ferment action was 

 stopped by boiling after thirty minutes, and the relative diastatic action in each mixture 

 was determined by estimating its reducing power with a standard Fehling's solution. 



The salts are arranged in order of their retardation. 



