216 CARBOHYDRATE-SPLITTING FERMENTS 



It is impossible to say at this time why the cardiac muscle 

 has so much higher diastasic ability than the skeletal 

 muscles of the same animal 74 ; the marked access of diastasic 

 power, noted by Kisch, in a tissue pulp transfused with 

 oxygen in the presence of blood may possibly have some 

 relation with retardation of postmortem lactic acid 

 production. 



Diastases in Embryos. The observation of Alice Stauber 

 in Exner's Institute is not without interest, showing that at 

 an early stage of embryonal development diastase exists in 

 the parotid gland and in the pancreas (at a time long before 

 any digestive activity of the alimentary apparatus could 

 possibly be considered) ; the embryonal thymus, too, is 

 scarcely inferior to the pancreas and parotid (organs 

 naturally destined to secrete diastasic ferments) in its 

 diastasic ability. 75 The diastasic ability of muscle at an 

 early stage of embryonal life exceeds that of the liver, as 

 shown by the careful quantitative examinations of Lafayette 

 Mendel. 76 



Origin of Diastase. L. Haberlandt has determined in 

 Zoth ? s Institute that the ability to form diastasic ferment is 

 a property of leucocytes (particularly of the polymorpho- 

 nuclear leucocytes), the enzyme partly remaining within 

 these cells, partly passing into the surrounding fluid. In 

 massive collections of leucocytes in the subcutaneous con- 

 nective tissue (as induced by some local irritant) the 

 diastasic power of the tissue of such a part becomes increased 

 and Haberlandt believes the assumption justified that at 

 least in part the diastatic ferment of the blood-serum has its 

 origin in the leucocytes. 77 



This introduces the important subject of the relation of 



74 Boruttau, Kisch, 1. c. 



78 A. Stauber (S. Exner's Lab., Vienna), Pfltiger's Arch., 114, 619, 1906. 

 M L. B. Mendel, with P. H. Mitchell and Saiki (Yale Univ.), Amer. Jour, of 

 Physiol., 20, 81, 1907 ; 21, 64, 1908. 



"L. Haberlandt (Zoth's Lab., Gratz), Pfliiger's Arch., 132, 175, 1910. 



