A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ETIOLOGY OF BERIBERI.^ 



By Weston P. Chamberlain and Edwaed B. Vedder.^ 

 {From United States Army Board for Study of Tropical Diseases. 



In the Lancet for December 17, 1910, Eraser and Stanton report a 

 series of experiments in which they prove that 85 per cent of the 

 phosphorus contained in rice polishings is negligible in the prevention 

 of polyneuritis of fowls. Their method of experiment is briefly as 

 follows : 



One hundred grams of rice polishings, containing 4.1 grains phosphorus pen- 

 toxide were extracted with 0.3 per cent hydrochloric acid solution which dis- 

 solved out 3.6 grams or 88 per cent of the phosphorus. They then added a 

 sufficient quantity of alcohol to precipitate all the phytin contained in the 

 solution which amounted to 3 grams or 73 per cent of the total phosphorus. . 

 The phytin was filtered out and the filtrate contained only 0.6 gram, or 15 per 

 cent' of the total phosphorus originally present in polishings. 



They then fed one series of fowls on polished rice plus the phytin containing 

 73 per cent of the phosphorus and another series of fowls on polished rice plus 

 the filtrate containing only 15 per cent of the phosphorus. The fowls receiving 

 the phytin developed neuritis while those receiving the filtrate remained in good 

 health. This proved that 85 per cent of the total phosphorus content (73 per 

 cent contained in the phytin and 12 per cent which remained in the polishings) 

 is unimportant in preventing polyneuritis gallinarum. 



We have repeated this work done by Fraser and Stanton and are 

 able to confirm their results. We fed three fowls on polished rice alone 

 and three others on polished rice plus the filtrate prepared according to 

 their method, with the result that the three fowls receiving only polished 

 rice developed neuritis in 18, 30, and 43 days, respectively, while of 

 the fowls fed on polished rice plus the filtrate one died at the end 'of 

 58 days of avian diphtheria without ever showing signs of neuritis, 

 and the other two lived until the 73d -day in good health, at the end of 

 which time the experiment was concluded. 



^Published with permission of the chief surgeon, Philippines Division. 



^ W. P. Chamberlain, major, Medical Corps, United States Army, and Edward 

 B. Vedder, captain, Medical Corps, United States Army, members of the United 

 States Army Board for the Study of Tropical Diseases as they Exist in the 

 Philippine Islands. 



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