Metabolic Influence of Magnesium. 



133 



ficient to warrant the conclusion that it was a direct effect of the 

 dosage. The observed absolute increase of urinary nitrogen was 

 registered chiefly in the form of urea, although the relative 

 excretion of the latter was below normal in one of the two main 

 experiments. 



The most striking and consistent effect on the partition of the 

 urinary nitrogen was the continued absolute as well as relative in- 

 crease of ammonia elimination throughout the whole of the dosage 

 part of each metabolism experiment, in spite of the fact that the 

 Folin method does not permit of complete recovery of ammonia 

 from crystallized ammonio-magnesium phosphate. (See the next 

 abstract.) The increased elimination of ammonia nitrogen may be 

 attributed, in large part at least, to special formation and elimi- 

 nation of ammonio-magnesium phosphate under the prevalent 

 conditions. 



Considering the data pertaining to the partition of nitrogen 

 from the standpoint of direct agreement, in the two main experi- 

 ments, it is noticeable that the increased elimination of ammonia in 

 all the postnormal periods is the most striking and perfect con- 

 cordance. That this increase was largely due to the combination 

 of ammonia with magnesium in the form of ammonio-magnesium 

 phosphate appears to be certain. The increase indicated by our 

 figures in one of the two main experiments was doubtless below 

 the full increase that would have been exhibited by a perfect 

 method of determining ammonia nitrogen when in the form of 

 " triple phosphate." 



The nitrogen of urea, creatinin and allantoin, taken collectively, 

 appeared in increased amounts, both absolutely and relatively, in 

 a majority of the postnormal periods. 



It is especially noteworthy that recovery from dosage with 

 magnesium sulfate, however profound the immediate effect of such 

 treatment may have been, was always prompt and apparently 

 complete so far as general observation and our data indicated. 

 That magnesium sulfate exercises surprisingly little measurable 

 effect on nitrogen metabolism under the conditions of these 

 experiments has also been shown by the results. 



The paper will shortly appear in the Journal of Biological 

 Chemistry. 



