Vines.—The Proteases of Plants (VII). 217 
Witte-peptone was tested, with the following results :—(1) in no case did the 
watery extract made after previous extraction with alcohol have any 
digestive action on fibrin in 48 hours : (2) in all three cases Witte-peptone 
was digested more or less ; thus the watery extract of the residue previously 
extracted with 40 % alcohol gave distinct tryptophane-reaction after 48 hours 
in the incubator : those of the residues previously treated with 50 % and with 
60 % alcohol both gave a strong reaction in the same time. Thus the more 
ereptase is extracted by alcohol, the less there is in the residue for subse¬ 
quent extraction by water. The effect of treatment with alcohol upon the 
peptonizing activity of diastase is remarkable : it appears to be entirely 
destroyed. It should be added that the duration of the treatment with 
alcohol was 4 hours in the case of the 40 % extract, rather longer in that of 
the 50 % extract, and 24 hours in the case of the 60 % extract. 
The preparation of extracts which acted on Witte-peptone but not on 
fibrin is strong evidence of the presence of ereptase as an independent 
enzyme. The further question remains—is the fibrin-digesting enzyme 
peptase ? This question can only be answered conclusively by preparing 
from diastase an extract which digests fibrin but is without action upon 
Witte-peptone. I have not yet succeeded in doing this, and cannot there¬ 
fore give a definite answer at present, although, on analogy, it is probable 
that the enzyme in question is peptase. 
Taka-Diastase. 
This substance is prepared commercially by Messrs. Parke, Davis and 
Co., to whom I am indebted for the material used in these experiments ; 
and it is employed medicinally on account of its powerful amyloclastic 
action. They describe it as ‘ a pure ferment obtained by the cultivation of 
a fungus of the species Eurotium Oryzae upon wheat-bran 
The mould, now usually called Aspergillus Oryzae , Cohn, is of special 
interest on account of its employment on a large scale in Japan for the 
preparation of the alcoholic drink known as sake ’ and of the sauce known as 
£ soy \ For the former purpose it is cultivated upon steamed rice with the 
object of converting the starch of the grain into sugar ; from the mixture of 
rice and mould, known as koji , a wort is prepared which is fermented 
with yeast. For the latter purpose the mould is cultivated upon a mixture 
of boiled Soja-beans ( Glycine Soja , Sieb. et Zucc.) and roasted wheat, 
forming a koji. When the conversion of starch into sugar has proceeded far 
enough, a wort is prepared in which various micro-organisms induce both 
alcoholic and lactic acid fermentations (see Lafar, 3 , and Saito, 4 ). 
My surmise that Taka-diastase includes proteases as well as diastase 
has proved to be well founded ; in fact it may be said to act as vigorously 
upon proteins as it does upon starch. This conclusion was communicated 
to Messrs. Parke, Davis and Co. a year ago. 
