176 THE PROCESSES OF DIGESTION AND RESORPTIOX. 



That it may constitute a fraction of Kuhne's antipeptone, however, 

 and perhaps even the greater portion, on the other hand, is quite 

 possible. 



\\ e have seen in the preceding section that in the stomach the 

 digestion of the native albumins scarcely extends beyond the forma- 

 tion of the primary albumoses. Their subsequent fate, on exposure 

 to tryptic digestion, has recently been studied by Pick. From his 

 researches it appears that the proto-albumose here apparently yields 

 the same deutero-albumoses as those which were obtained on peptic 

 digestion, and here as there the secondary albumose-C was want- 

 ing. Hetero-albumose gives rise to the formation of the deutero- 

 albumoses A and B', but curiously enough the C-albumose does not 

 appear. The fate of the primary deutero-albumose-B, on the other 

 hand, as also of the deutero-albumose-C, is as yet unknown, but it 

 is likely that the former is here also transformed into the deutero- 

 albumose-B' and into peptone-A. Especially interesting further is 

 the observation of Pick that the proto-albumose, as also the hetero- 

 albumose, rapidly disappears, so that after twenty-four to thirty-six 

 hours traces only can be found in vitro, while with peptic digestion 

 a complete transformation into secondary albumoses is scarcely 

 effected even after several weeks. 



Of the subsequent change which Kiihne's anti-albumid under- 

 goes little is known, but it is possible that the substance is first 

 transformed into anti-deutero-albumose, and then contributes to the 

 formation of antipeptone. 



As regards the distribution of anti- and hemi-groups in the orig- 

 inal albuminous molecule, it appears that both are present in about 

 the same proportion. With beginning digestion in the stomach, 

 however, this relation is disturbed, and we find that the hetero- 

 albumose contains rather more nitrogen in the basic form 39 per 

 cent. than the proto-albumose 25 per cent. Of the further sepa- 

 ration of the two groups, we know nothing, and it is indeed a 

 matter of doubt whether a complete separation occurs at any time 

 preceding the formation of antipeptone, and, as has been seen, this 

 consists in part at least of amido-acids, which, however, are here 

 present in the free state. 



I have pointed out that in the small intestine amido-acids arc 

 found only in traces, and that the existence of a hemipeptone is 

 extremely doubtful. The question hence arises : In what form are 

 the digestive products of the albumins here absorbed? As anti- 

 peptone, or its decomposition-products, so far as we know, are not 

 eliminated in the feces, we may conclude that if this complex of 

 digestive products is formed at all in the living body, its absorption 

 must take place in the intestinal canal. But as Ellinger has shown 

 that it is impossible to maintain the nitrogenous equilibrium by the 

 administration of hexon bases alone, this portion of the antipep- 

 tone can scarcely enter into consideration from the standpoint of 

 nutrition. Whether or not those other bodies, which appear to 



