848 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



to only 4 milligrams. The average daily amount of sulphur as pre- 

 servative given to each man throughout the entire preservative period 

 amounted to 193 milligrams. The total increased elimination of sul- 

 phur in the urine is 218 milligrams, and of this amount 185 milligrams 

 is in the form of sulphates and 41 milligrams in the form of neutral 

 sulphur. 



The summary for Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, who received sodium 

 sulphite, shows an average decrease of 58 milligrams of sulphur in the 

 food during the preservative period and an increase of 9 milligrams in 

 the feces, both of which would tend to decrease the amount of sulphur 

 in the urine, though this influence would be small. 



There is an average ingestion of 235 milligrams of sulphur per man 

 per day in the preservative period from the administered preservative 

 and a total increased elimination of 275 milligrams, 232 milligrams of 

 which is in the form of sulphates and 43 milligrams as neutral sulphur. 



Nos. 8 to 11 show practically no influence by the decrease of sulphur 

 in the food, which is but 34 milligrams less than in the fore period, 

 while the amount eliminated in the feces is only 6 milligrams greater 

 than in the fore period. The average daily ingestion of sulphur in the 

 form of sulphurous acid amounted to 172 milligrams per day. The 

 increase in total sulphur eliminated amounted to 165 milligrams; 128 

 milligrams of this was in the form of sulphates and 36 milligrams as 

 neutral sulphur. 



A comparison of the averages of Nos. 1 to 6 and 8 to 11, who 

 received sodium sulphite and sulphurous acid, respectively, shows in 

 the case of Nos. 1 to 6 a considerably greater quantity of sulphur 

 eliminated than was given in the preservative, while the amount of 

 sulphur which was eliminated in an oxidized form is practically the 

 same as that administered in the preservative. In the case of Nos. 

 8 to 11, the increase of total sulphur eliminated in the preservative 

 period and the administered sulphur agree very closely. In the after 

 period the conditions seem to be reversed for these two summaries. 

 Nos. 1 to 6 show more of a tendency to return to normal, with an 

 average decrease in the excretion of sulphates as compared with the 

 fore period, while Nos. 8 to 11 still show an increase of sulphates 

 excreted in the after period. This difference may be partly due, as 

 is explained in the discussion of the summary, to the comparison of 

 only three preservative subperiods for Nos. 1 to 6 with the four pre- 

 servative subperiods for Nos. 8 to 11. The neutral sulphur in the 

 cases of Nos. 8 to 11 is seen to be increased, and this increase still 

 persists to a greater degree during the after period. 



Presch a found a large increase of neutral sulphur after the inges- 

 tion of flowers of sulphur in experiments on men, and concluded that 



aVirchow's Archiv, 1890, 119: 148. 



