1918] 
BONNS—ETHERIZATION AND ENZYME ACTIVITY 261 
of narcotics may be one directly involving the activation or in- 
hibition of the enzymes of metabolism. 
In either case the effect of anaestheties upon enzyme action 
is deserving of study. For if the second hypothesis be dis- 
carded at once, there still remains the very evident possibility 
that the permeability changes induced in the membranes by 
narcotics (and such changes are established facts) may, by 
altering the conditions of concentration within the cell, pro- 
duce changes in the chemical condition or activity of the 
enzymes. 
Johannsen (’97) does not regard the conversion of pro- 
enzymes or zymogens to active forms as a plausible explana- 
tion of his metabolism studies, and although he admits the 
possibility of increased enzyme activity following stimulation, 
he believes it doubtful. His explanation lays all the emphasis 
upon the condensation processes and their reversal. We 
cannot, however, escape the fact that, so far as we know, 
enzymes are responsible for such syntheses and hydrolyses; 
therefore they have either been incited to action or inhibited 
by concentration changes, or else they have been directly 
acted upon,—converted from inactive to active form,—or the 
reverse. | 
On the other hand, as we have noted, Palladin (?10) in his 
studies of respiration enzymes not only considers the stimula- 
tion or inhibition of existing enzymes, or the conversion of 
zymogens to active forms (or the reverse) as possible, but 
actually concludes from his experiments that respiratory 
stimulation depends upon increased zymogen conversion. In 
addition we have the very striking results of Willaman (717) 
which indicate the possibility of enzyme synthesis in vivo 
and the still more remarkable increase in the activity of an 
extracted plant enzyme as the result of narcotization. 
In view of the contrasting viewpoints, it has seemed de- 
sirable to attempt to secure additional data bearing on these 
points by studying the effect of ether upon plant enzymes, 
as measured by their action upon various substrates under 
control conditions, using quantitative chemical methods. 
