TROPICAL TRIBES AND RACES 209 



the nutrition of the organism. Hill and Flack, in their work on 

 the nutritive value of flours, have shown that foodstuffs must 

 be regarded, not only from the standpoint of their protein con- 

 tent and caloric value, but also from another aspect viz., the 

 presence or absence of certain organic constituents which have 

 been found to be of the very greatest importance in the growth 

 and nutrition of the body. The researches of Funk* and others 

 on the isolation of the substance contained in the polishings of 

 rice, absence of which from the food is now generally recognized 

 as the specific cause of beri-beri in man and polyneuritis in 

 animals, is another example of certain materials present in the 

 food whose importance is out of all proportion to their nitrogen 

 content or caloric value. 



It is now generally admitted that the body requires for the 

 growth and repair of its protoplasmic tissues certain complexes 

 or grouping of nitrogenous combinations, and that, failing a 

 sufficient supply of these, neither growth nor nitrogenous equi- 

 librium can be maintained, no matter how much protein may be 

 offered in the diet. We have referred to the work done from 

 this point of view in the first chapter of this volume. It would 

 appear very probable that certain of these groups or combinations 

 are provided in the organic base that Funk has isolated from 

 rice polishings, and that Mooref and his co-workers have shown 

 to be present in yeast. Such important substances would appear 

 to be present in many other food materials in their natural 

 state, but may be lost by certain methods of preparations as, 

 for instance, overmilling of cereals. 



Recognizing the important bearing of these discoveries on 

 the problems of nutrition and on the maintenance of the body 

 in nitrogenous equilibrium, it appeared to us to be a matter of 

 some moment to make certain that the poor physique of the 

 Bengali was not to be attributed to the absence or insufficient 

 supply of these essential materials in his food. 



A priori the weight of evidence is strongly against such a 

 contention or such an explanation of the poor muscular develop- 

 ment of the Bengali. Thus, there is practically no beri-beri in 

 Bengal, as country rice, and not the highly polished Rangoon 

 variety, is the form in general use. Further, the fact that large 

 quantities of dal a substance very rich in the element lacking 



* Funk, The Journal of State Medicine, June, 1912. 



t Moore and others, The Bio-Chemical Journal, July, 1912. 



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