300 ORIGIN OF FAT OUT OF CARBOHYDRATE 



Tscherwinsky chose two ten-week-old piglings out of one litter of 

 almost equal weight. One was killed and its fat and proteid content 

 estimated. The other was fed four months with barley. The amount 

 of barley eaten was weighed and the barley analysed. The undigested 

 fat and the nitrogen in the excreta were determined. From these 

 data the fat and proteid assimilated in the four months were calcu- 

 lated. The pig increased to 24 kg., and the fat and proteid in its 

 body were estimated. 



Of the 7*9 kg. fat only a small part could possibly have come 

 from the 5 '93 kg. proteid. At least 5 kg. must have come from the 

 carbohydrate. 



Meissl and Strohmer fed a one-year-old pig weighing 140 kg. 

 for seven days with 2 kg. of rice per day. The rice, urine, and 

 faeces were analysed, and on the third and sixth days the pig was 

 brought into the respiration chamber and the CO 2 output deter- 

 mined. 289 grm. C and 6 grm. N were retained daily. Now 6 grm. N 

 = 38 grm. proteid, containing 20 grm. C. Therefore 269 grm. C 

 were put on as fat. In the food there was 5*3 grm. fat and 104 grm. 

 proteid. Of the latter 38 grm. were put on. The remaining 66 

 grm. proteid and 5*3 grm. fat were insufficient to supply the 269 grm. 

 C retained. 



The formation of fat from carbohydrate has also been proven 

 on sheep, dogs, geese, &c., by Rubner and others. It is a 

 process of reduction. The excess of oxygen in the carbohydrate 

 molecule appears to unite with the carbon of another carbohydrate 

 molecule, oxidising the latter to C0 2 and H 2 0. " The process is 

 an intra-molecular change analogous to a fermentation producing 

 C0 2 without the intervention of 2 from outside." The respiratory 

 quotient is therefore increased, and becomes more than 1 when 

 much carbohydrate is transformed into fat. 



