18 BULLETIN 505, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGEICULTURE. 



the blancmange containing the cocoa butter. As a result of eating 

 the larger quantities, an average of 109 grams per day (82 grams for 

 D. G. G., 106 grams for R. L. S., and 138 grams for O. E. S.), undesir- 

 able physiological derangements were experienced. The effects were 

 so pronounced that subject D. G. G. discontinued the diet at the end 

 of the seventh meal, but subjects R. L. S, and O. E. S. completed 

 the full nine-meal period. "Loss of appetite," ''headache," ''loss of 

 ambition," "nausea," and "sleeplessness" M'^ere the conditions 

 reported, which indicate that cocoa butter in quantity had an effect 

 not noted of the other vegetable fats studied. Though the exact 

 limit of tolerance has not been determined, to judge by the experi- 

 ments made in this laboratory, the maximum amount of cocoa butter 

 that can be consumed daily without decidedly unpleasant effects lies 

 between 51 grams and 109 grams. 



The digestibility of the carbohydrate, 96.4 per cent, and of the 

 protein, 64.5 per cent, agrees fairly closely with the average availa- 

 bility of these constituents, and would seem to be uninfluenced by 

 the digestibility of the fat. 



It will be noted on reference to the table that the feces contained 

 comparatively large quantities of fat during the last three experi- 

 ments. In experiment No. 237 as much as 37 per cent of the weight 

 of the air-dried feces was fat, and an odor suggesting that of cocoa 

 butter could be clearly detected. In view of the unsatisfactory utili- 

 zation of this fat and the accompanying physiological disturbances, 

 the continued daily use of cocoa butter in large amounts would 

 appear questionable, and, as a matter of fact, it does not seem to be 



so used. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



(1) With allowance for metabolic products, the coefficients of 

 digestibility have been found to be for olive oil, 97.8; for cottonseed 

 oil, 97.8; for peanut oil, 98.3; for coconut oil, 97.9; for sesame oil, 

 98; and for cocoa butter, 94.9 per cent. These values indicate that 

 the vegetable fats studied, with the exception of cocoa butter, have 

 for all practical purposes the same digestibility and are utilized as 

 completely as the animal fats. 



(2) The melting points of these fats are considerably lower than 

 body temperature (37° C.) and in accordance with the theory that 

 fats of low melting points are more thoroughly digested than the 

 harder fats, it has been found that the vegetable fats studied, with the 

 exception of cocoa butter, are utilized practically completely by the 

 body. 



(3) The average amounts of fat eaten per subject daily were 73 

 grams of olive, 86 grams of cotton seed, 98 grams of peanut, 64 grams 

 of coconut, and 90 grams of sesame oils. Moreover, as much as 103, 

 125, 113, 131, and 106 grams of these fats, respectively, were eaten 



