THE ETIOLOGY OF BERIBERI. 69 



Doctor Grijns, after he succeeded in producing polyneuritis in fowls 

 as well as pigeons by feeding them on food without starch, concluded 

 that the nervous system requires definite and until now unknown con- 

 stituents which are present in different articles of food in widely varying 

 quantities; Tcatjang idjo containing a great proportion of the latter, 

 cleaned rice only a few. These constituents can be rendered inactive by 

 steaming at 120° and an article of food which only contains small 

 amounts of them is capable of causing disease of the peripheral nervous 

 system. This author has for a long time been occupied in separating 

 the active constituents from Tcatjang idjo, but has not as yet been 

 successful. 



Doctor Schaumann, as a result of his investigations on ship beriberi, 

 believed it possible that the nucleins are indispensable to the nervous 

 system. He came to this conclusion because in cases of beriberi the 

 secretion of compounds of phosphoric acid is diminished, and articles 

 of food which are considered as probable factors in the etiology of beri- 

 beri, such as, for example, cleaned rice and dried potatoes, contain but a 

 small amount relatively of these compounds, whereas the pericarp of rice 

 and Tcatjang idjo have a great quantity. He also proved that a large 

 proportion of the nucleins is decomposed in old beans, which is a reason 

 why articles of food in good condition, by reason of a long voyage or by- 

 being stored for a long time, may become unfit to supply the nervous 

 system with sufficient nutriment. 



After this communication, Doctor Grijns attempted to cure fowls suf- 

 fering from polyneuritis by means of nucleins derived from Tcatjang idjo, 

 but with negative results. Doctor Schaumann brought forward the same 

 results in his later publications, for in the case of pigeons suffering from 

 polyneuritis, he could produce no effect by giving nucleins prepared from 

 yeast. 



In 1909, Doctor Grijns published the following investigation : 



He injected into the peritoneal cavity of healthy fowls the blood of diseased 

 birds (a minimum of 57 cubic centimeters in 12 injections and a maximum of 220 

 cubic centimeters in 23), but without result. The nerves of diseased fowl?, 

 either free or inclosed in collodion sacks and introduced into the peritoneal 

 cavity of healthy birds, did not give rise to polyneuritis. The feeding of healthy 

 fowls on the flesh of diseased birds had no effect, neither did the injection of 

 the blood of the former into the latter accelerate the appearance of polyneuritis 

 in the case of fowls fed on cleaned rice. 



In the year 1901 an epidemic of beriberi occurred among the coolies at 

 the coaling station at Sabang (Sumatra). The medical officer there 

 present, Dr. H. L. Roelfsema, could not observe any amelioration in the 

 condition of the patients when he gave them meat and other extra articles 

 of food, but he did observe that the epidemic ended as soon as he 

 prescribed Tcatjang idjo. Doctor Hulshoff-Pol repeated these experiments 

 in the lunatic asjdum at Buitenzorg. During the period from August 1 



