444 PROTEIN POISONS 



soluble constituents. (3) Neither neutralization of the 

 serum, nor the addition of pepsin, nor the removal of 

 carbon dioxide gas, nor treatment with oxygen has any 

 effect upon the germicidal properties of the blood. (4) 

 Dialysis of the serum against water destroys its activity, 

 while dialysis against 0.75 per cent, salt solution does not. 

 In the diffusate there is no germicidal substance. The 

 loss by dialysis with w^ater must be due to the withdrawal 

 of the inorganic salts of the serum. (5) The same is shown 

 to be the case when the serum is diluted with water, and 

 when it is diluted with the salt solution. In the former 

 instance the germicidal action is destroyed, while in the 

 latter it is not. (6) The inorganic salts have in and of them- 

 selves no germicidal action. They are active only insofar 

 as they affect the normal properties of the albuminates of 

 the serum. The germicidal properties of the serum reside 

 in the albuminous constituents. The difference in the 

 effects of the active serum and that which has been heated 

 to 55 is due to the altered condition of the albuminate. 

 The difference may possibly be a chemical one (due to 

 cleavage within the molecule) or it may be due to changes 

 in mycelial structure. The albuminous bodies act upon 

 the bacteria only when the former are in an active state. 

 Vaughan and McClintock 1 called attention to a contra- 

 diction between Buchner's work and his conclusions, in 

 the following language: "We wish at this point to call 

 attention to an inconsistency between the results obtained 

 by Buchner and the conclusions that he draws: In experi- 

 ment 45 he renders the serum slightly acid, and adds 0.1 

 gram of pepsin to each 5 c.c. of serum (showing by a side 

 experiment that this pepsin actively digests coagulated 

 egg albumen in neutral solution) and finds that the digestive 

 action of the pepsin does not lessen the germicidal properties 

 of the serum. In fact, he states this in his conclusion, but 

 his ultimate opinion and the one held by him in his latest 

 contribution, is that the germicidal constituent of the 



1 Med. News, December 23, 1893. 



