56 THE PROTEIN ELEMENT IN NUTRITION 



These three foodstuffs, barley, juar, and bajra, are very 

 inferior when used alone or as the main constituent of a diet, as 

 they exhibit so poor an absolute and relative absorption of the 

 protein element. Thus, to take as examples* three of the ordinary 

 diets arranged for prisoners in India, the following are the results : 



Bajra 24 ozs. ] 



Dais 6 [intake of nitrogen, 15-9798 grms. 



Vegetables . . . . 6 ,, J 



Of this 9-5291 grammes of nitrogen were absorbed, or 59-6 per 

 cent, of the total nitrogen offered in the diet. 



Juar 22 ozs. ] 



Dais 8 [intake of nitrogen, 16-2748 grms. 



Vegetables .. .. 6 J 



Of this 8-9992 grammes of nitrogen were absorbed, or 55-3 per 

 cent, of the total nitrogen offered in the diet. 



Barley 22 ozs.] 



Dalg 81 2 " /-Intake of nitrogen, 14-3793 grms. 



Vegetables '.'. '.'. 6 ',', 1 



Of this 9-2264 grammes of nitrogen were absorbed, or 64-1 per 

 cent, of the total nitrogen offered in the diet. 



These results should be contrasted with the level of nitrogenous 

 metabolism attained on a diet where a good class of wheat forms 

 the principal cerealf : 



Wheat 23 ozs.] 



Dais .. .. .. 4 ,, [intake of nitrogen, 16-714 grms. 



Vegetables .. .. 6 ,, J 



Of this 13-651 grammes of nitrogen were absorbed, or 81-6 per 

 cent, of the nitrogen offered in the diet. 



It will be evident from these results that there is a very large 

 nitrogenous residue left over in the intestinal canal when food 

 materials with a low coefficient of protein absorption, such as 

 barley, juar, or bajra, form the main part of the diet. This 

 residue provides a splendid culture medium for the growth of 

 putrefactive micro-organisms, and is therefore likely to predispose 

 to diarrhoea, dysentery, and other intestinal disorders. 



Another disability attached to such foods is that, in order to 

 maintain the physiological needs of the body, they require to be 

 taken in such large quantities that the carbohydrates and caloric 

 value of the dietaries become very excessive. Thus, in the three 



* Scientific Memoirs, Government of India, No. 48, p. 131. 

 f Ibid., No. 48, p. 54. 



