ne 
on Amylolytic and Proteolytic Action. 139 
These results agree exactly with the preceding, and both together 
plainly show that only small percentages of bile acids are required 
to entirely prevent the amylolytic action of saliva. Assuming that 
the amylolytic ferment of the pancreatic juice is similar in its nature 
to the ferment of saliva, it would follow from our experiments that 
whether the contents of the intestines are acid or alkaline, the pres- 
ence, beyond a certain percentage, of taurocholic acid, either as free 
acid or as a taurocholate, would tend to diminish amylolytic action. 
Very small percentages, however, would have little, if any, retarding 
effect, indeed might increase amylolytic action. As to glycocholic 
acid, the free acid is much more powerful in its action on the amylo- 
lytic ferment than the sodium salt of the acid. 
Considering these results in the light of a possible application to 
changes in the intestinal canal, it becomes an interesting point to 
ascertain whether bile itself exerts the same influence on amylo- 
lytic action as the bile salts. Moriggia and Battistini* state that 
while bile mixed with chyme gives a precipitate which, among other 
things, contains mucin, bile acids and pepsin, thus hindering gastric 
digestion, it does not, on being mixed with saliva, hinder its amylo- 
lytic action. This they found to be the case both with bile contain- 
ing mucin and with bile from which the mucin had been removed 
by acidifying. We have, therefore, made the following experiments 
with fresh ox bile containing 7°46 per cent. of solid matter. The 
digestive mixtures contained as before 1 per cent. of starch, 2 per 
cent. of neutral saliva, and were warmed at 40° C. for 30 minutes : 
Total amount Starch 
Ox bile. Wt. Cu in \. reducing bodies. converted. 
0 per cent. 0°0753 gram. 0°3072 gram. 27°64 per cent. 
2°0 0-0875 0°3568 32°11 
5°0 0-0690 0°2824 25°41 
10°0 00719 0°2944 26°50 
20°0 0:0770 0°3144 28°30 
Here in close accord with what has been found before, the presence 
of a small percentage of bile causes increased amylolytic action; 
larger percentages, however, have little, if any, effect ; certainly not 
_ such an effect as would be expected from the known action of the 
bile salts. The bile itself possessed to a slight extent, diastatic 
action; 20 c.c¢. of the bile (20 per cent.) converting 4°53 per cent. 
of the starch into sugar in 30 minutes. This, however, could hardly 
account for the increased amylolytic action noticed above in the pres- 
* Jahresbericht fiir Thierchemie, 1876, p: 196. 
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