CONDIMENTS. 



429 



lating to increased activity. In this respect they resemble the stimulating 

 extractives of beef-broth. Coffee contains about per cent, of caffein, which is 

 partially first set free in the process of roasting. Tea contains 6 per cent, of 

 thein, green tea also i per cent, of ethereal oil, black tea \ per cent.; green tea 

 1 8 per cent., black tea 15 per cent, of tannic acid. Green tea yields on the 

 whole about 46 per cent., black tea scarcely 30 per cent., of extract. 



In addition the inorganic substances in these beverages are to be considered, 

 Tea contains 3.03 per cent, of salts, including considerable amounts of soluble 

 compound of iron and manganese, which are important in the formation of 

 hemoglobin! , and also sodium-salts. In coffee, which yields 3.41 per cent, 

 of ash, potassium preponderates. In all three beverages, however, the remaining 

 inorganic substances that are found in the blood are present in suitable propor- 

 tions. Cocoa is only inadequately utilized as a nutritive agent: of 50 grams 

 only 5 grams of albumin, 16 grams of fat and 6 grams of starch. 



Alcoholic beverages owe their activity primarily to the alcohol they contain. 

 With regard to the latter the following is to be noted: i. Alcohol is decomposed 

 in the body, principally into carbon dioxid and water. In this respect it does not 

 differ essentially from other articles of food, and it is thus to be regarded as 

 a source of heat. As alcohol readily undergoes this combustion in the body, 

 its use can, therefore, diminish to a certain degree the consumption of the con- 

 stituents of the body itself. It has, however, been shown that with a mixed 

 diet alcohol is not capable of protecting the albumin from decomposition, but 

 solely the fat. With a mixed diet alcohol is not able to replace any of the carbo- 

 hydrate of the food. Only from i to 2.5 per cent, of the alcohol passes over into 

 the urine, from 5 to 6 per cent, into the breath. The odor of the breath is due, 

 in addition, to other volatile substances in the alcoholic beverage, such as fusel-oil 

 and others. Traces pass into the cutaneous secretions. 2. In small amounts 

 alcohol has a stimu- 

 lating effect, in large 

 doses, through over- 

 stimulation, a para- 

 lyzant effect upon the 

 nervous system. By 

 means of this stimu- 

 lating effect it is 

 therefore capable of 

 spurring the body 

 temporarily to greater 

 functional activity for 

 achievement, at the 

 expense, it is true, of a subsequent depression. 3. When taken in small suitable 

 doses before or after meals, it aids the digestion, while larger doses interfere with 

 digestion. 4. It diminishes the sensation of hunger. 5. It induces more active 

 respiratory movements, and stimulates the heart and the vascular system, and 

 thus accelerates the circulation of bright-red blood, so that muscles and nerves 

 become more capable of action. It also causes a subjective sensation of heat. 

 In a larger dose, however, it paralyzes the vessels by overstimulation and they 

 become dilated, for example, in the external integument. As a result heat is 

 radiated in greater degree through the skin than it is generated in the body, and 

 therefore the bodily temperature is lowered. Large doses also diminish the activity 

 of the heart by the excitation of smaller, weaker and more rapid beats. In ele- 

 vated regions the power of alcohol is greatly enfeebled, as, on account of the low 

 atmospheric pressure, the alcohol is rapidly given off from the blood. 



From the foregoing remarks it is clear that alcohol, when taken in small 

 amounts, can be of incalculable benefit in conditions of temporary privation and 

 want of food, in conjunction with which resistance to fatigue and an extraordinary 

 amount of work are yet required. In a similar manner it is capable of protecting 

 the tissues of the sick from too rapid consumption, with the exception of the al- 

 bumin. When taken habitually, however, and especially in large amounts, 

 it causes derangement of the nervous system by overstimulation, and undermines 

 the forces of mind and body, partly in consequence of its poisonous properties, 

 chiefly due to its volatile constituents (fusel-oil) , affecting the nervous system 

 permanently, partly through its direct action in causing injurious catarrhal and 

 inflammatory conditions in the digestive organs, and partly finally through inter- 

 ference with and impairment of the normal metabolism. 



Alcoholic beverages are prepared by fermentation of the sugar obtained from 



FIG. 140. i, Isolated yeast-cells; 2, 3, formation of buds; 4, 5, endogenous 

 cell-formation: 6, germination and bud-formation. 



