tions, namely, the different degrees of toleration of the substance 

 administered in different individuals. It should not be forgotten 

 that the subjects upon whom the experiments were made represent 

 the highest type of health and resistance. Hence, it is fair to infer 

 that with less resistant types, such as children and persons with weak 

 stomachs or other disorders of the digestive functions, or those suffer- 

 ing from impaired vitality in any form, the effects of the adminis- 

 tration of the drug would have been more pronounced. It is evident, 

 therefore, that the administration of both benzoic acid and benzoate 

 of soda results in serious disturbances of the digestive functions, with 

 positive indications of illness, which may easily be increased to nausea 

 and vomiting, while headache is a very common symptom, developed 

 together with a feeling of physical weakness and an unfitness to per- 

 form ordinary work. 



BODY WEIGHT. 



A study of the figures shows that in the case of the subjects who 

 received benzoic acid there was an average loss of weight during the 

 preservative period of about half a kilogram, or slightly more than 1 

 pound, and an additional loss during the after period of 0.46 kilo- 

 gram, again a loss of about a pound. The loss in weight of those who 

 received benzoate of soda was very much less, amounting to 0.22 

 kilogram, or about 0.5 pound, during the preservative period, and an 

 additional loss of about 0.36 kilogram during the after period, mak- 

 ing altogether a total average loss of 1.3 pounds for the entire 

 observation. This illustrates a fact which is brought out in nearly 

 all of the other studies, namely, that while the immediate effect of 

 benzoate of soda on the metabolic activities was less marked than 

 that of benzoic acid, the effect after the withdrawal of the preserva- 

 tive was more pronounced, so that the final result was almost as inju- 

 rious as that produced by the benzoic acid alone. These facts are 

 graphically set forth in the accompanying charts. 



The final conclusion which is drawn from a study of these data is 

 that the administration of benzoic acid as such, or sodium benzoate, 

 in the quantities mentioned, produces a condition of the digestive 

 activities which causes a loss in the weight of the body. In other 

 words, the activities of a katabolic nature, which result in the destruc- 

 tion and excretion of tissue, are greater than those of an anabolic 

 nature, which build up the tissues. This effect does not cease 

 immediately upon the withdrawal of the preservative, but is con- 

 tinued in the majority of the cases throughout the entire after period. 

 Hence, it is evident that the administration of these drugs in foods 

 tends to derange the normal activities of the body and to cause a loss 

 of tissue, resulting not only in disturbances of health but also in 

 actual decrease in the weight of the body. 



[Cir. 39] 



