636 
Digestive  Power  of  Pepsin. 
(  \m.  Jour.  Piiarm. 
t  December,  1897. 
Ferric  salts  .  . 
Bromine  water  . 
Calcium  hydrate 
Blue-black  precipitate. 
No  precipitate. 
Yellowish  ppt.,  turning  brown. 
These  reactions  correspond  with  those  of  gallotannic  acid,  and  the 
combustion  results  show  a  composition  very  similar  to  the  same 
acid,  so  it  may  safely  be  concluded  that  the  tannin  of  pomegranate 
rind  is  identical  with  gallotannic  acid.  This  is  in  accord  with  the 
results  obtained  by  Culley1  on  the  tannin  of  the  root  bark. 
1  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1894,  page  280. 
THE  DIGESTIVE  POWER  OF  PEPSIN  IN  THE  PRESENCE 
Some  years  ago  I  conducted  a  series  of  experiments  with  a  view 
of  determining  the  relative  digestive  value  of  the  various  pepsins 
then  on  the  market,  and  published  the  result  of  the  inquiry.5  Subse- 
quently I  was  requested  to  continue  and  extend  the  investigation  for 
publication  in  one  of  the  medical  journals,  and  in  consequence  I 
gained  some  amount  of  experience  in  this  kind  of  work.  The  experi- 
ments were  carefully  conducted  and,  after  a  lapse  of  time,  were 
repeated  by  a  French  investigator,  who  confirmed  my  results.  Time, 
"  which  tries  all  things,"  also  testified  to  their  correctness,  for  the 
pepsin,  which  was  then  mostly  prescribed  and  relied  on,  has  since 
practically  disappeared  from  the  market,  its  quality  having  been 
found  by  experience  to  be  inferior  to  that  of  similar  preparations  by 
other  makers.  Apart  from  the  relative  value  of  various  pepsins,  I 
also  experimented  on  the  digestive  power  possessed  by  pepsin  in 
the  presence  of  alcohol,  and  found  that  its  activity  was  reduced  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  alcohol  present.  From  this  I  drew 
deductions  which  I  have  since  learned  to  modify,  although  the  facts 
remain.  I  condemned  wine  as  a  vehicle  for  the  administration  of 
pepsin  because  of  its  property  of  retarding  the  activity  of  the  medici- 
nal agent  it  carried,  and  recommended  in  the  place  thereof  a  solu- 
1  Pharmaceutical  Journal,  November  6,  1897. 
2  Pharmaceutical  Journal  (3),  IV,  1.  See  also  note  on  "L,atent  Pepsin,"  by  G 
W.  C.  Phillips,  in  Pharmacist,  VIII,  200,  and  "Year  Book  of  Pharmacy,"  1875 
p.  317;  paper  on  "Pepsin  and  Alcohol,"  by  M.  Bardet,  Nouveaux  Remeaes* 
1887,  p.  243,  and  Pharmaceutical  Journal  (3),  XVIII,  93;  and  paper  on  "Pepsin 
Wine,"  J.  Clark,  Pharmaceutical  Journal  (3),  XXII,  397. 
1/ 
OF  ALCOHOL.1 
By  C.  Symes,  Ph.D. 
