4 BULLETIN 687, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTXJEE. 



In view of the very large amount of this oil that is produced an- 

 nually, its value for edible purposes is a matter of very considerable 

 interest. McPherson and Euth ^ studied the possibility of the use of 

 corn oil for shortening purposes and found that pastry made with 

 mixtures of lard and corn oil in amounts not exceeding 10 per cent of 

 the latter was identical in quality with pastry in which lard alone 

 was used. Eitter ^ in a report of a study of the use of com oil as a 

 fat food in the treatment of tuberculosis states : " The ingestion of 

 corn oil is well tolerated * * * and the prolonged and increasing 

 dosage is always well borne by the stomach." 



In the determination of the digestibility of a number of edible fats 

 Moore ^ found that guinea pigs fed on wheat bran on which corn oil 

 had been blown in a fine spray digested 86.47 per cent of the corn oil. 



In order that the corn oil studied should be representative of corn 

 oil as purchased by the average consumer two lots manufactured by 

 different concerns were purchased on the open market at different 

 seasons of the year. Both of these oils were stored under laboratory 

 conditions for a time before being used for the tests here reported. 

 Experiments Nos. 389, 390, 391, and 392 were made with one of the 

 oils and experiments Nos. 689, 690, and 691 were made with the 

 second oil. Since no marked differences were noted, it is to be as- 

 sumed that the oils were very similar in their physiological action. 



Seven experiments in which different subjects assisted are herewith 

 reported, the data being summarized in the following tables : 



Data of digestion experiments tcith corn oil in a simple mixed diet. 





Weight 

 of food. 



Constituents of foods. 



Experiments, subjects, and diet. 



Water. 



Pro- 

 tein. 



Fat. 



Carbohy- 

 drates. 



Ash. 



Experiment No. 389, subject D. G. G.: 



Grams. 



1,983.0 

 485. 

 831.0 

 81.0 



Grams. 



901.1 



43.6 



722.1 



Grams. 



37.1 



51.4 



6.6 



Grams. 



247.3 



7.3 



1.7 



Grams. 



786.2 



374.9 



96.4 



81.0 



Grams. 

 11.3 



Wheat biscuit 



7.8 



Eniit 



4.2 



















3,380.0 

 94.0 



1,666.8 



95.1 

 31.1 



64.0 



256.3 



15.3 



241.0 



1,338.5 



39.1 



1,299.4 



23.3 





8.5 



Amount utilized 





14.8 











Per cent utilized 







67.3 



94.0 



97 1 



63.5 











Experiment No. 390, subject A. J. H.: 



Blancmange containing com oil 



2,571.0 



561.0 



1,406.0 



27.0 



1,168.3 



50.5 



1,221.8 



48.1 

 59.4 

 11.3 



320.6 



8.4 

 2.8 



1,019.4 

 433.7 

 163.1 

 27.0 



14.6 





9.0 



Fruit 



7.0 

















Total food consumed 



4,565.0 

 101.0 



2, 440. 6 



118.8 

 31.7 

 87.1 



331.8 



18.3 



313.5 



1,643.2 



40.5 



1,602.7 



30.6 





10.5 







20.1 











Per cent utilized 



... . ! . 



73.3 



94.5 97.5 



65.7 















lAnn. Rpt. Ohio Dairy and Food Comr., 21 (1906), pp. 18-23. 



2 Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 51 (1908), No. 1, pp. 39, 40. 



3 Arkansas Sta. Bui. 78 (1903), pp. 38-41. 



