SO-CALLED 'BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES' OF MILK 113 



Lenzen also found complement constantly present in the milk 

 of cows suffering from mastitis. More recently evidence has been 

 obtained by Moser and by Kobele, who showed also that the 

 complement content is the same throughout the milking, there 

 being no difference between the early milk and the strippings. 



Human Milk. The investigations on the presence of com- 

 plement in human milk are not conclusive, and it does not appear 

 that human colostrum has been subjected to any investigation 

 from this point of view. 



Cattaneo (1905) believed that he had obtained evidence of 

 complement in human milk, but Frey pointed out later that 

 Cattaneo's results were probably due to a technical flaw. 



Other observers, notably Pfaundler and Moro (2), Bauer (2), 

 Noeggerath and Kolff, have investigated the presence of comple- 

 ment in human milk, using a similar system to that used when 

 dealing with cows' milk. 



Moro and Pfaundler (2) believed that there was an inhibitory effect 

 preventing haemolysis, due to some alteration of the red corpuscles. 

 Bauer (2) agreed as to the inhibitory effect, but believed that it 

 was not due to the cause assigned by these authors. Moro and 

 Pfaundler, and Noeggerath and Kolff, although they failed to detect 

 the presence of complement in human milk, were able to obtain traces 

 of haemolysis in some cases, when using a strong immune serum. 



The presence of amboceptor has not been demonstrated in 

 ordinary milk, either in cows' milk or in human milk, but Kobele 

 found amboceptor was present somewhat inconstantly in colostrum 

 up to the second or third day, but it did not persist as long as 

 complement, which was present up to about the fifth day. 



In addition to the work above described upon the presence of 

 complement in human and cows' milk, investigations have been 

 carried out which suggest that the haemolytic action which has 

 been obtained by certain authors, is possibly not due to the presence 

 of haemolytic factors as such. Thus, there is some evidence to 

 show that milk which gives no indication of the presence of 

 complement immediately after being withdrawn from the gland 

 does show evidence of the presence of this substance when the milk 

 is kept in the cold. 1 



Hewlett and Re vis (1,2) carried out some experiments upon the 

 presence of complement in the milk from separate cows and in 

 mixed milk. They found it more frequently present in the early 

 and later stages of lactation, or in a condition of mastitis, than in 

 ordinary milk. When present, the reaction does not occur with 

 all haemolytic systems, even though these systems are of consider- 

 able sensitiveness, and they suggest that the reaction is not that 

 of a true complement. These authors also find that milk exercises 

 a stimulating effect upon haemolytic action, the extent of which 



1 Cp. Ellen beck and Bauer (3). 



