448 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1349 



Meat 



Sugar 



Sugar and vita- 

 mine' 



Starch 



Starch and vita- 

 mine* 



Lard 



Lard and vita- 

 mine'' 



crease, 



Per 

 Cent.' 



129 

 70 



171 



— 17 



The rats on the protein diet did not require 

 the addition of extra vitamine (autolyzed 

 yeast) at all. This may be regarded as the 

 " sparing action of protein on the vitamine 

 requirement." On the other hand, the rats 

 on the fat diet took the extra vitamine with 

 great avidity, but showed only a small ad- 

 vantage over the controls. The replacement 

 of some of the fat by butter was without any 

 significance, no improvement being noted. 



On the starch diet, the rats actually needed 

 extra vitamine (about 2 c.c. per day) in order 

 to resume growth. This was likewise true of 

 the rats on the sugar diet except that they 

 appeared not to require as much vitamine 

 for growth as those on the starch diet. On 

 these diets we occasionally observed sudden 

 large increases and losses in weight, suggestive 

 of edema, though no external evidence was 

 seen. As regards the general appearance of 

 the animals, those on the protein diet and 

 those getting extra vitamine looked very 

 healthy, while the others appeared to be in 

 poor shajie with the usual evidences of im- 

 proper nutrition. The rats on the high fat 

 diet, without extra vitamine, presented the 

 poorest appearance. 



Out of thirty rats, only one developed kera- 

 tomalacia, and this rat was getting five per 

 cent, cod-liver oil. The eye condition cleared 



s In this instance, the figure represents the in- 

 crease after 60 days, and is practically the same 

 after 80 days, since most of the animals had al- 

 ready attained full size. 



* Vitamine given during last 55 days. 



up on giving autolyzed yeast (about 2 c.c. 

 per day). 



The findings reported here show conclu- 

 sively that although the qualitative food re- 

 quirements of a well balanced diet have been 

 pretty well established, this can not be said 

 of the quantitative relationship between the 

 dietary constituents necessary for proper 

 nutrition. It is quite conceivable that under 

 the abnormal conditions existing dunig the 

 war period and after, the usual ratio between 

 the protein, carbohydrate, and vitamine con- 

 stituents have been so changed as to present 

 conditions analogous to those described by us 

 in rats. 



Theoretically at least, the above conditions 

 could be corrected in either of two ways — (a) 

 by increasing the protein and decreasing the 

 carbohydrate intake, or (h) by supplying 

 extra vitamine. The curative experiments of 

 edema in rats reported by Miss Kohmann, and 

 also the condition described as pellagra in a 

 monkey, by Miss Chick, may be viewed in the 

 above light. In view of the complications 

 presented by the " sparing action of animal 

 protein on the vitamine requirements," it may 

 be just as well for the present to leave the 

 question open, as to whether or not pellagra 

 and war edema are avitaminoses. Of all the 

 theories regarding pellagra, that expressed by 

 Goldberger in which he states the facts and 

 leaves the matter open for further investiga- 

 tion, appears to us to be the most satisfactory. 



Our complete results will be published in 

 detail later on. Casimie Funk, 



Harry E. Dubin 



SCIENCE 



A Weekly Journal devoted to the Advancement of 

 Science, publishing the official notices aad pro- 

 ceedings of the Americein Association for 

 the Advcincement of Science 



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THE SCIENCE PRESS 



LANCASTER, PA. GARRISON, N. Y. 



NEW YORK, N. Y. 



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