THE VITAL PHENOMENA OF BACTERIA. 8/ 



cal bodies and other reactive proteids, that is, 

 it may act as a poison or disinfectant. 



The action of the so-called unorganized fer- 

 ments or enzymes has been thought for a long 

 time to be due to such a property. Some of 

 these enzymes break up proteids, fats and car- 

 bohydrates by hydrolytic splitting ; in this 

 way albumoses and peptones are formed out of 

 albuminates, and fatty acids and glycerine out 

 of fats. For example : 



(C 18 H 35 0) 3 C 3 H 5 3 + 3H 2 = 3Ci 8 H 36 2 + C 3 H 8 O 3 

 tristearin, water, stearic acid, glycerine. 



and : 



C 44 H 90 NP0 9 + 3 H 2 = 2C 18 H 36 2 H- 

 lecithin, water, stearic acid, 



C.H,PO e + C 5 H 15 N0 2 

 cholin, 



Examples of the hydrolysis of carbohydrates 

 have been already tabulated on p. 34. Other 

 enzymes, as for example rennet and an en- 

 zyme found in the blood, bring about coagula- 

 tion of albumin. Similar effects are wrought 

 by bacteria, and enzymes can be isolated from 

 the cells and the same action brought about 

 independently of the living bacteria them- 

 selves. Hueppe and Fermi T have demon- 

 strated the existence of bacterial enzymes 

 capable respectively of fermenting milk-sugar, 

 of bringing about hydration of starch, of co- 



1 Centralbl. f. Bakt. VIL, 1889, p. 449. 



