PUTKEFACTION. 609 



The material for this fermentation is, in the first Material, 

 place, furnished by the albuminous substances them- 

 selves ; these never seem to undergo the decompo- 

 sition directly, but first become converted into peptone ; 

 as, however, a peptonising ferment is usually pro- 

 duced, by putrefactive and many other bacteria, there is 

 practically only a difference as regards time between 

 the putrefaction of soluble and insoluble albuminous 

 materials ; by the addition of peptonising pancreatic 

 ferment the putrefactive process is, however, hastened. 

 Further, gelatinous materials, and materials which give 

 rise to gelatine, are liable to undergo putrefactive fer- 

 mentation ; then the peptones ; finally, some nitro- 

 genous bodies, which are, however, more removed from 

 the proteid materials in their composition and in their 

 characters, but which are closely allied to them in that 

 they must be looked on as components of the albuminous 

 molecule ; more especially leucine, perhaps also tyrosin, 

 indol, &c. 



In accordance with our present views as to the com- Nature of the 

 position of the albuminoid bodies, and in accordance tion m 

 with the analogies with the decomposition which these 

 bodies undergo as the result of the action of acids and 

 alkalies, we must, as a whole, assume that in the decom- 

 position of the albuminoid molecule as the result of 

 putrefaction, amido derivatives of the fatty acids (amido 

 acids) , nitrogenous bodies of the aromatic series, sulpho- 

 acids (taurin), and perhaps also peptone-like bodies 

 are formed. As a rule, however, the products which 

 first appear are rapidly broken up further, so that, they 

 scarcely attract attention ; for example, the arnido acids 

 are broken up into ammonia and fatty acids, of which 

 the latter are still further decomposed according to the 

 formulae given above, usually with the liberation of 

 carbonic acid, hydrogen, and marsh gas. Thus, in the 

 case of leucine a fermentation has been found which 

 seems to take place according to the formula C 5 H 10 

 NH 2 COOH (leucine) +2 H 2 = C 4 H 9 COOH (valerianic 

 acid) + NH 3 + C0 2 + 2 H 2 . Glycocol and other amido 

 acids probably also undergo a similar decomposition. 



39 



