82 MILK AND ITS HYGIENIC RELATIONS 



body, since when human milk was added to cows' milk the 

 reaction with the cows' milk took place just as easily. He found, 

 however, that human colostrum was active, and that the active 

 substance was precipitated with the globulin fraction. It may 

 be mentioned that in respect of this last point, Raudnitz found 

 the same for cows' milk. 



Moro (3) (1902), using the oxidation of salicylic aldehyde as a 

 measure of the oxidising power, obtained negative results with 

 human milk. 



Spolverini (2, 3) (1902 and 1904) found a weak reaction with 

 human milk, and showed that it became stronger if the milk assumed 

 the character of colostrum. He believed that the ferment was 

 attached to the leucocytes. 



Nordmann (1902) published a case of a child who was fed upon 

 the breast of a mother who was suffering from mastitis. The 

 infant did not thrive, and on testing the milk it was found to be 

 negative to Storch's reagent. Three samples of milk taken from 

 other women gave a positive reaction, and Nordmann apparently 

 attributed the infant's lack of progress to the absence of peroxidase. 

 This paper produced a reply from Thiemich (1903), who showed 

 that the presence of peroxidase is altogether uncertain. He 

 examined the milk of a large number of women attending the 

 Breslauer Klinik, and found that whilst it was usually present it 

 was very inconstant. 



Marfan and Gillet (1902) found that the reaction is present 

 in colostrum, but disappears as the gland gets into full work ; if, 

 however, the gland is allowed to become less active, then the 

 peroxidase again appears, and with it the leucocytes ; the peroxi- 

 dase reaction may, however, appear rather earlier than the leuco- 

 cytes. They found further that if milk giving the peroxidase 

 reaction be examined under the microscope, on the addition of 

 guaiacum and hydrogen peroxide, the area around the nucleus 

 of the polymorpho-nuclear leucocytes became blue. The fluid 

 around also showed a faint bluish tinge, so that, apparently, the 

 substance can pass out. 



Gillet, carrying this work further, showed that the presence of 

 peroxidase is due to leucocytes, and that it is found both in the 

 fluid and in the sediment of centrifuged milk. 



He also examined the milk from a large number of women, 

 and found, as Thiemich did, that the reaction was extremely 

 uncertain ; it varied even in the milk from the two breasts. 



Friedjung and Hecht (1903), working on the milk from a large 

 number of women, found that the reaction was negative in 114 

 out of 174 samples of milk examined, and varied greatly in intensity 

 when present. As a whole the reaction was more marked in colostral 

 milk, but it was often absent even there. 



Jolles (1904) was so entirely unable to detect the presence 

 of peroxidase in human milk that he suggested that the test should 



