940 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



sulphur excreted in the feces is slightly greater in the preservative 

 period than in the fore period and there is still another slight increase 

 in the after period. Expressed in percentage amounts, considering 

 the first balance, this increase is 0.8 and 0.68 per cent, respectively, 

 for the preservative and after periods. 



The average amount of sulphur excreted in the urine during the 

 preservative period is greater by 0.164 gram than during the fore 

 period, and in the after period there is an increase over the fore 

 period of 0.081 gram. There is a percentage increase during the 

 preservative period, considering balance I, of 15.27 per cent and for 

 balance II, including the preservative sulphur, of 4.43. For the 

 after period there is 6.22 per cent more sulphur excreted than in the 

 fore period. It should be borne in mind, too, that the sulphur in the 

 food is slightly less in the preservative period and practically the 

 same in the fore and after periods. 



The balance in the fore period is positive and amounts to 0.190 

 gram. During the preservative period the first balance (food sul- 

 phur only) is only slightly negative, amounting to 0.015 gram, while 

 the second balance is positive, amounting to 0.157 gram. In the 

 after period the balance is +0.102. 



The reduction in the positive balance for these subjects during 

 the preservative period corresponds almost exactly to the reduction 

 in the amount of sulphur ingested in the food. In the first balance, 

 the sulphur eliminated in excess of that from the ingested food that 

 is, the sulphur in the preservative is of sufficient amount to cause 

 a negative balance of 0.015 gram, which if added to the first balance 

 gives 0.172 gram, exactly the average daily amount ingested as pre- 

 servative, the urine alone showing an actual increase of 0.164 gram. 

 If we assume all of the sulphur here excreted to come from the admin- 

 istered preservative, a very rapid elimination of the sulphurous acid 

 by the kidneys is shown, but in the after period there is again an 

 increase over the fore period in the sulphur eliminated, both in 

 the feces and urine, which of course represents some of the sulphur of 

 the preservative that has been carried into the after period. Con- 

 sidered from this point of view there is still evidence of an increased 

 excretion of sulphur over that administered as preservative, and 

 there is also a slight decrease in the absorption of sulphur. 



In comparing these two summaries it should be remembered that 

 the fourth preservative subperiod for Nos. 1 to 6 is lacking and there 

 is a lapse of five days before the after period began for three of these 

 subjects. There is also a difference in the quantity of SO 2 adminis- 

 tered as sulphites and as sulphurous acid gas, which must be taken 

 into consideration. For Nos. 1 to 6 the average daily amount 

 expressed as sulphur is 0.242 gram, while for Nos. 8 to 11 it is 0.172 

 gram. There is thus a constant difference of 70 milligrams of sul- 

 phur ingested per day. 



