VIII, B, 3 Vedder and Williams: Vitamines in Rice 181 



(a) A normal fowl was given the untreated extract from 2 

 kilograms of polishings. It was entirely unaffected by this dose. 



(&) A normal fowl was given the extract from 300 grams of 

 polishings, treated with hydrochloric acid, and subsequently 

 neutralized with sodium bicarbonate. The fowl was quickly 

 prostrated and died within fifteen minutes. 



(c) A fowl that had developed neuritis as a result of feeding 

 on polished rice, and whose legs were completely paralyzed, 

 was given untreated extract from 2 kilograms of polishings. 

 No improvement. 



(d) Another fowl that had developed neuritis, and whose legs 

 were completely paralyzed, was given the extract treated with 

 hydrochloric acid from 100 grams of polishings. This fowl was 

 greatly improved and within twenty-four hours was able to 

 walk like a normal bird ; in fact, it was completely cured. 



This experiment demonstrated that the difference in thera- 

 peutic action between Funk's extract and our own was undoubt- 

 edly due to the hydrochloric acid used in one case and not in the 

 other, and, further, that the properties of our extract could 

 be changed so that it resembled the action of Funk's extract 

 by simple treatment with 5 per cent hydrochloric acid. 



It was found that 5 per cent sulphuric acid effected the same 

 transformation. It is apparent that strong mineral acids break 

 up the protective substance which is present in the rice polishings 

 and the alcoholic extract, reducing it to a more active and prob- 

 ably simpler form. This may be regarded as a hydrolysis which, 

 however, is not produced by the weak organic acids normally 

 present in the extract. Funk's (6) later results in working 

 with yeast amply confirm our observations as to the effect of 

 hydrolysis with strong mineral acids. 



Having this clue, we again prepared an extract of rice polish- 

 ings according to our previous method, hydrolyzed it with 5 

 per cent sulphuric acid, and precipitated it with phosphotungstic 

 acid and silver nitrate and baryta, following Funk's procedure 

 closely. We thus obtained a small quantity of a crystalline base, 

 30 milligrams of which promptly cured fowls suffering from 

 polyneuritis. This base was undoubtedly the same as that 

 isolated by Funk. The next step was to try a feeding experiment 

 with this base. 



ExTperiment Uk. — A quantity of this base was dissolved in 

 distilled water in such proportion that each 10 cubic centimeters 

 of the solution represented the amount of the base extracted 

 from 10 grams of polishings. 



