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Microbiology. — “Fat-splhtting by bacteria.’ By Dr. N. L. SÖHNGEN. 
(Communicated by Prof. Dr. M. W. Brturtcr). 
(Communicated in the meeting of November 26, 1910). 
Our knowledge about fat-splitting by bacteria, a process interesting 
as well for its practical value for several industries, as for scientific 
reasons, must hitherto be considered as very deficient when com- 
pared with what we know of the breaking off of carbohydrates 
and proteids. 
This relatively little knowledge should be ascribed to various causes. 
In the first place there is no urgent motive to study fat-splitting 
by organisms for technical purposes, in as much as technical fat- 
splitting is without much trouble effected chemically or enzymatically. 
Moreover, in the splitting of fat do not result such striking conversion 
products as in the breaking off of carbohydrates and proteids by 
bacteria. so that this process may easily be overlooked by the 
experimenter. 
To this we may add that the decomposition of fat proceeds in 
general slowly, so that a prolonged cultivation is required before a 
sufficient quantity of material is formed for making the analyses, 
which, besides, are by no means simple. 
Fat-splitting by microbes is notwithstanding of great signification 
for the industry of fats by the highly prejudicial consequences 
accompanying this process. 
So we should not be astonished that the greater number of 
investigations in this line have been made especially in behalf of 
the dairy industry; so that rancidity of butter and fat-splitting in 
cheese have best been studied. 
1. Historica. 
We shall only give a short survey of those investigations on fat- 
splitting which have been made in recent times. 
ReINMANN ') stated in 1900 that the rancidity of fats must not be 
ascribed to the influence of air as was then the common opinion. 
The action of microbes he did not mention. The growing tallowy 
of fats was after RrinMANN caused by the action of light in presence 
of air. 
JENSEN *) attributes rancidity wholly to microbie action. Of the 
1) Centralblatt f. Bakt. 2 Abt. 1202. Bd. 6 S. 166. 
2) Landw. Jahrb. d. Schweiz 1901. Bd. 15 S. 329, 
