208 INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS AGENCIES 



observers show the immense importance to the growth and activity 

 of living cells of their inorganic constituents, and this division of 

 biochemistry is rapidly acquiring an immense literature of its own. 1 



In such an action due to variation in inorganic salts, the writer 

 believes that the key will ultimately be found to the secret of 

 the cause of irregular cell division in the body, giving rise to malig- 

 nant growths. For the production of what must be described 

 as a pathological division in unfertilised eggs, and the production 

 of pathological cell divisions such as have been noted by Galleoti 

 by the action of inorganic salts such as the iodides, must be problems 

 of the same order as the causation of the ungoverned and patho- 

 logical divisions, often of very similar type, found in malignant 

 growths. 



As a general rule it may be stated that for the same enzyme 

 the intensity of action of a given concentration of an alkali or acid 



+ 



varies approximately directly as the concentration in HO or H 

 ions, the effect of the other ion being only of secondary importance. 

 Thus in all cases free alkalies such as sodium or potassium hydrate 

 are many times more powerful than the corresponding carbonates 

 in consequence of their almost complete ionisation as contrasted 

 with the low ionisation of the carbonates. 2 Again, ammonia, 

 which is but feebly ionised (about -J~ H of that of sodium hydrate) 

 has a correspondingly feeble destructive action. The same holds 

 in the case of acids, the effect here being mainly due to the hydrogen 

 ion; thus organic acids solutions, such as acetic, which are only 

 ionised to the extent of 2 or 3 per cent., have a correspond- 

 ingly weak destructive effect, while inorganic acids, such as hydro- 

 chloric, which in dilute solution are almost completely ionised, 

 break up the enzymes with great rapidity. 



The degree of resistance as compared in different ferments is 

 subject to wide variation, dependent doubtless upon the chemical 

 constitution of the different enzymes, and arising usually from 

 the environment in which the enzyme has been developed. The 



1 Another class of substances, organic in nature but not acting through 

 transformations of organic energy, are the " accessory food factors." For 

 a most excellent account of these the reader is referred to the Special Report 

 Series of Medical Research Council, No. 38, H.M. Stationery Office, 1919. 



2 In decinormal solutions sodium carbonate has only about 3 per cent, 

 of the concentration in hydroxyl ions found in sodium hydrate (Shields, 

 Zeitsch.f. pliysik. Chem., vol. xii., p. 167). 



