6 BULLETIN" 687; U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



On an average the subjects ate 26 grams of protein, 80 grams of 

 fat, and 398 grams of carbohydrates. The fuel value of the diet 

 was 2,415 calories. The total fat of the diet, approximately 97 per 

 cent of which was corn oil, was 93.5 per cent digested. Wlien the 

 usual correction for the undigested fat of the basal ration and meta- 

 bolic products is made, the value 93.5 per cent for the digestibility 

 of the total fat of the diet becomes 96.9 per cent for the digestibility 

 of corn oil alone. In these as in all other tests, except those with 

 charlock oil, the fat-rich blancmange was eaten readily and without 

 comment, showing that the oil as used was not unpalatable. The 

 proteins and carbohydrates supplied by the diet were 63 per cent and 

 97 per cent digested, respectively, values which correspond with those 

 obtained for these constituents in earlier experiments of this series. 



In the reports which the subjects submitted regarding their physi- 

 cal condition during the exj)erimental periods, no reference was made 

 to any laxative effect resulting from the diet. On the basis of the 

 results of the tests reported it may be reasonably concluded that re- 

 fined corn oil, when eaten in amounts comparable with the amount of 

 fat occurring in the average dietary, served satisfactorily for food 

 purposes. ' 



SOY-BEAN OIL. 



The soy bean {Glycime soja), prepared in a variety of ways, has 

 long been a staple article of diet in the oriental countries, ranking 

 very close to rice in order of importance. As a result of the long- 

 continued use of this legume for food purposes, the oriental peoples 

 have developed many special ways of using the protein and carbo- 

 hydrate of the soy bean, some with and some without the oil. 

 Though used for fuel and illuminating purposes in the Orient, much 

 less attention seems to have been given to the dietary use of the sepa- 

 rated soy-bean oil. 



In the United States constantly increasing quantities of soy beans, 

 imported from the Orient or produced for the most part in the cot- 

 ton-growing districts, are pressed in the cottonseecl-oil mills. The 

 oil is largely used for technical purposes, especial attention having 

 been given to its use as a paint oil. Work which has been done 

 indicates that the characteristic odor and taste of the crude oil can 

 be nearly, if not entirely, eliminated by careful refining and that 

 the refined oil may be used for food purposes. 



Korenchevsky and Zimmerman ^ made a study of the digestibility 

 of soy-bean oil when eaten with a basal ration of rye bread, cabbage 

 soup, and buckwheat or millet cooked as porridge. Three soldiers 

 of normal health served as subjects and ate 100 grams of soy-bean 



iViestnik Obshch. Hig., Sudeb. i Prakt. Med., 1905, pp. 690-693. 



