150 DIASTATIC ACTIVITY IN BLOOD AND URINE. 



VAEIATIONS IN DIASTATIC ACTIVITY OF BLOOD. 



Wohlgemuth's method for diastase in the urine would appear not to be 

 sufficiently delicate for serum, owing possibly to the concentration of diastase 

 in the urine being higher than in the serum. The tint of the sera masks the 

 delicacy of the colour reaction which occurs on the addition of iodine. 

 Variations were found in the diastatic activity of whole blood when examined 

 by Fyfe's method, and they would appear to be related to the ingestion of 

 food. 



Table VI shows the the variations obtained in two normal cases selected 

 at random from a number of estimations made on several normal cases. 



Stafford and Addis (toe. ci^.) foresaw the possibilities of variations in the 

 diastatic activity of plasma, but they gave no details. Cammidge and Howard 

 (1923) noted variations in the diastase content of the blood of a rabbit. 



DIASTATIC ACTIVITIES OF UEINE AND BLOOD, AND THE DIASTATIC 

 CONCENTRATION FACTOR. 



The diastatic activity of a specimen of urine has been shown to be — 



Nu mber of c.c. o f 0"2 per cent, solution of starch converted by 0'2 c.c. urine 



02 c.c. urine 



_ number of milligrammes of starch converted 



0'2 c.c. urine 



TT -rv number of milligrammes of starch 

 %. e. U.D. = ^ — ■ — — 



0-2. 



The diastatic activity of the blood (B.D.) has been taken as the number of 

 milligrammes of sugar X 100 formed by the diastase in 0'2 c.c. blood from 

 the substrate, viz. starch. 



The diastatic concentration factor (D.C.F.) for the kidneys which are being 

 examined may be taken as the power of the kidneys to concentrate diastase 

 from the blood. If, for example, a specimen of urine is obtained for the 

 second two-hourly period after the first meal of the day, in order to get the 

 mean value of the blood diastase during this period, it would be necessary to 

 carry out blood-diastase estimations at the beginning and end of this period or 



