EXPERIMENTS WITH HUMAN SUBJECTS 



95 



or two feedings (usually one) between meals to subjects who had failed 

 to respond very appreciably to the 500 cubic centimeters of B. acidoph- 

 ilus milk alone. In the single dextrin ingestion experiment the dextrin 

 was added to the milk in the form of a 50 per cent aqueous solution. 



The results are given in the following tables (58 to 64). In every 

 instance the combination exerted a marked transforming influence on the 

 intestinal flora with a resultant simplification of bacterial types which 

 was comparable with the changes effected by 300 grams of the lactose 

 or dextrin or by 1000 cubic centimeters of the acidophilus milk alone. 

 (See Charts 39 and 40.) There was an almost complete absence of gas- 

 producing organisms in the Veillon tubes, and the Gram-stained slides 

 presented a bacterial picture in which B. acidophilus-like rods were 

 strikingly prominent. These observations were well supported by the 

 colonies on the whey agar plates. The discontinuance of the use of 

 lactose or dextrin and the milk cultures by subjects F and G after 

 feeding periods of twenty and ten days respectively resulted in the 

 return of the original mixed flora within five to ten days. 



These observations are of particular interest in that they emphasize 

 the necessity of accompanying B. acidophilus administration with suit- 

 able carbohydrate and hence the value of the dextrin and lactose in a 



CHART 40 



\)/zf/mryCi7//y/P/e^ 



/ z 3 4- £ 6 7 a 9 /o /I /2 /3 /4- /SfeiJ 



Curve indicating percentage of B. 

 acidophilus appearing in fecal 

 specimens from human subjects. 

 Diet 

 Ordinary daily diet 

 B. acidophilus milk 500 c.c. 

 Dextrin 100 gms. 

 Ordinate — Per cent of B. acidoph- 

 ilus. 

 Abscissa — Number of days after 

 initial administration of diet. 



