STARVATION 99 



Voit, has been broken down. He supports his hypothesis by evidence 

 obtained from geese fed in varying fashion before the fasting period. 

 Thus, a fat young growing gander, abundantly fed previous to the fast 

 of three days, catabolized during this time mainly non-muscle protein 

 i.e. the reserve protein had been adequate to tide the bird over the 

 period of deprivation ; a fully grown bird, which was fed on a com- 

 paratively nitrogen-poor diet previous to the three-day fast, had only 

 a sufficent store of non-muscle protein for one day, and on the two 

 subsequent days subsisted on muscle protein. Even when the reserve 

 protein was all utilized and the bird was existing on its muscle protein, 

 there was a retention of part of this muscle nitrogen. 



These facts are extremely interesting, particularly the latter with 

 reference to the utilization of a stored protein, as it is further evidence 

 in support of the view that, as is the case with carbohydrates and fatSj 

 there can also be a reserve store of protein for emergencies (see p. 79). 

 Noel Paton maintains that the same calculations can be applied in 

 the case of human subjects, if the combined creatine and creatinine 

 output be considered. Using the data of Van Hoogenhuyze and 

 Verploegh, of Benedict and of Cathcart, on starving subjects, he finds 

 that muscle flesh is the protein material utilized during the fast, and 

 that as in the case of birds, there is a very well-defined retention of the 

 muscle nitrogen as the fast progresses. 



This alteration in the ratio of the output of total nitrogen to crea- 

 tine which Noel Paton regards as indicative of the retention of muscle 

 nitrogen is of considerable interest. One must infer that the creatine 

 or creatine precursor is present in the muscle in a more or less labile 

 form and that it is not directly required for the resynthetic processes. 

 Urano (403), it may be pointed out, has shown that under certain con- 

 ditions (in vitro], particularly if the tissue has undergone slight autolysis, 

 creatine can be readily dialysed out of muscle tissue. As creatine is 

 only present in considerable amount in muscle tissue, and as muscle 

 tissue, according to the observations of Voit and others, is much re- 

 duced during the course of starvation, it must be concluded that it is 

 the liberated creatine which is excreted and that the creatine-free 

 nitrogenous rest is utilized for the building up of tissues more immedi- 

 ately essential to the animal. 



Certain experiments which Hawk and Fowler (172) carried out 

 on the effect of water drinking must be considered here, as the results 

 were interpreted by them as indicating the possibility of removing crea- 

 tine from muscular tissue without any accompanying total catabolism of 

 the muscle. Hawk (173) in his fasting experiments found that less 



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