IONS AND SALT ACTION. 71 



action and enzyme action by the assumption that the enzymes cause an increase 

 in those ions, which could cause the reaction without the presence of the enzyme. 

 On the other hand J. LOEB x believes that the enzymes can also be electrolytically 

 dissociated and that their action depends on the amount of ions. Thus pepsin 

 is a weak base which forms a salt with the hydrochloric acid added and that this 

 salt is more strongly dissociated than the base ; for this reason the action of pepsin 

 is increased by acid. 



Many enzymotic processes are influenced by the presence of salts 

 of the alkalies or alkaline earths. According to BIERRY, GIAJA and HENRI 

 as well as PRETI 2 pancreatic juice dialyzed for a long time has no action 

 upon starch, but becomes active again on adding NaCl or other salts. 

 According to WoHLGEMUTH 3 the diastatic power of saliva is increased 

 ten-fold by the addition of NaCl. The anions are the active part in both 

 cases (see page 52 on co-enzymes). The strong retarding action which 

 NaFl exerts upon the enzymotic cleavage of esters is also to be men- 

 tioned (LOEVENHART and PIERCE, AMBERG and LoEVENHART 4 ). 



Other actions of salts are also ascribed to ion-action. To these 

 belong the experiments of DRESSER 5 according to which mercury salts, 

 which are relatively strongly dissociated, have a poisonous action upon 

 organic formations (yeast, frog heart), while potassium-mercury hypo- 

 sulphite was nearly non-toxic. As the last-mentioned salt contains 

 very few free Hg ions the posionous action of the first salt is ascribed to 

 the ions. PAUL and KRONIG 6 have arrived at similar results by inves- 

 tigating the poisonous action of mercury salts upon spores. They found 

 that K2Cy4Hg, which hardly contains any Hg ions, is much less poison- 

 ous than an equivalent solution of HgCy2- The same conditions were 

 observed by MAILLARD 7 for copper salts. 



This leads us to the question as to the importance of water and the 

 mineral bodies, which are of just as great moment for the life of the 

 cells and their metabolism as the organic constituents. In regard to 

 the water this follows from the fact that the animal body consists of 

 about two-thirds water. If we also recall that water is of the 

 greatest importance for the normal physical condition of the tissues, 

 that the solution of numerous bodies and the dissociation of chemical 

 compounds, that all flow of juices, all exchange of material, all supply 

 of food, all growth or destruction and all removal of destructive prod- 



1 Bioch. Zeitschr., 19, 534 (1909). 



2 Compt. rend. soc. biol., 60, 479 (1906); 62, 432, (1907); Bioch. Zeitschr., 4, 1 

 (1907); 40,357 (1912). 



3 Bioch. Zeitschr., 9, 1 (1908). 



4 Journ. of Biol. Chem., 2, 397 (1907); 4, 149 (1908). 



5 Arch. exp. Pathol. u. Pharm., 32, 456 (1893). 



6 Zeitschr. f. physik. Chem., 31, 411 (1896). 

 7 Compt. rend. soc. biol., 50, 1210 (1898). 



