THE TRANSMISSION OF TOXINS AND ANTIBODIES 

 THROUGH MILK 



DURING the process of milk secretion, proteins, carbohydrates, 

 and fats of the body are so altered as to form the normal con- 

 stituents of milk. Since casein, lactalbumin, butter-fat, and 

 milk-sugar occur in milk and in no other place in nature, it is 

 assumed that they are transformation products of proteins, fats, 

 and carbohydrates contained in the system of the milk-producing 

 mammal, and that these substances do not pass through the mam- 

 mary gland unaltered. On the other hand, it has been shown 

 that some substances can pass into the secretion without under- 

 going material alteration. Such substances as potassium iodid, 

 sodium salicylate, mercury and arsenic compounds, bromids, 

 carbolic acid, aspirin, ether, chloroform, turpentine, and asafet- 

 ida have been given to cows and then have been recovered from 

 the milk. It is conceivable, therefore, that vegetable poisons 

 may reach the mammary secretion if the animal, while grazing, 

 should eat poisonous plants. As a matter of fact, essential oils 

 occasionally appear in the milk when aromatic food is taken. 

 These oils are not necessarily poisonous, but they impart unpleas- 

 ant flavors to milk and may prove injurious if fed to infants. 



However, all such substances that may appear in the milk 

 are present in highly diluted form, and the probability of injurious 

 consequences after the consumption of such tainted milk is not 

 great. 



Similarly, it is conceivable that toxins may appear in the 

 milk either through the food of the mother or from her circula- 

 tion if the mother is suffering from a bacterial infection. 



The term "toxin" is now commonly used to mean substances 

 which may be related to proteins, but which do not possess the 

 general properties of proteins. The chemical composition of 

 toxins and their structure are not known. Introduced in the 

 animal body they induce the formation of immune bodies similar 

 to the antibodies produced in living animals and man when foreign 

 colloidal substances invade them. There are many kinds of these 

 antibodies, but the discussion of these does not come within the 

 scope of this work. The reader is referred to any good treatise 

 on immunity, hygiene, bacteriology, or pathology. The anti- 

 bodies formed after the introduction of toxins in the body are 

 known as antitoxins. 



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