of the University of Pennsylvania. 23 



juices ; that is, well-boiled bran with its adherent 

 "gluten-cells/' will sustain prolonged maceration at 

 the temperature of the human digestive tract in 

 artificial gastric and pancreatic juice (in which, 

 under the same conditions, fibrin is readily digested) 

 without exhibiting any change. These cells were 

 further found to be unaffected by maceration for 

 thirty days in liquor potassse, except for a slight 

 swelling of the cell and the occasional coalescence of 

 some of its contained oil-globules. They were also 

 practically unchanged by a few days' immersion in 

 strong nitric acid. In order to obtain conclusive and 

 unassailable results as to the nutritive value of the 

 " gluten-cells" as far as man is concerned, the writer 

 has at present under observation a number of healthy 

 adults, who daily receive, in addition to their regu- 

 lar diet, a small fixed amount of boiled bran. Their 

 alvine dejections (containing all the undigested ele- 

 ments of food after the normal action of all the 

 digestive juices) will be submitted to close micro- 

 scopical examination, with a view to ascertaining 

 the extent to which the "gluten-cells" have been 

 digested, and a report will be made upon the results 

 in the near future. 



