FATE OF THE DISACCHARIDES 197 



reference to the milk-sugar splitting function of the pan- 

 creas, that it is greatly increased or primarily induced by 

 milk diet in dogs and newly born human beings ; but other 

 investigations failed to adduce any confirmation of such 

 statements. 8 



In view of the fact (to be discussed later) that the pan- 

 creatic fat-splitting ferment is very materially increased in 

 its effectiveness by the access of bile, it is not without inter- 

 est that the bile also favorably influences the digestion of 

 starch, probably because the bile salts reduce the surface 

 tension of the starch paste. 9 



Fate of the Disaccharides. In the resorption processes 

 in the intestine it is particularly important to note that the 

 intestinal wall is strikingly less permeable not only for the 

 high-molecular colloids, but also for the disaccharides than 

 for the monosaccharides. It is correct to say that the bowel- 

 wall apparently allows only those sugars to pass readily 

 which can easily be used by the tissue cells. 10 The cells are 

 not adapted to deal with the majority of disaccharides, as 

 may be recognized in the fact that if cane-sugar or lactose be 

 introduced parenterally, that is, subcutaneously or intraven- 

 ously, they are simply excreted without change. Although 

 this is not true for maltose there is a special reason, in that 

 the blood contains a ferment, ' 'maltase, " which is capable of 

 splitting the parenterally introduced sugar, after it has 

 entered the circulation, into glucose. But when we consider 

 the fact that a man can take up from the intestine large 

 amounts of cane sugar (three hundred grams and more) 

 without any appearing in the urine, it is obvious that double 



"E. Weinland (Munich), Zeitschr. f. Biol., 38, 607, 1899; 40, 386, 1900. 



7 F. A. Bainbridge (Univ. College, London), Jour, of Physiol., 31, 98, 1905; 

 P. Sioto (Fano's Lab.), Arch d. Fisiol., 4, 116, 1907; O. Martinelli (Bologna), 

 Centralbl. f. Stoffwechselkr., 8, 481, 1907. 



*R. Aders Plimmer, Jour, of Physiol., 34, 93, 1906; 35, 20, 1906-07; 

 J. Ibrahim and L. Kaumheimer, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 62, 1909. 



G. Buglia (Bottazzi's Lab., Naples), Biochem. Zeitschr., 25, 239, 1910. 



10 Cf. E. H. Starling, Handb. d. Biochem., 3", 241, 242, 1909. 



