Lecithin. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1914. 
meal  (consisting  of  skim  milk  powder,  oatmeal  and  sugar)  and 
administering  lecithin,  the  nitrogen  of  the  food  was  better  assimi- 
lated and  retained  by  the  body  than  was  the  case  when  lecithin  wa$ 
not  administered  simultaneously.  In  the  former  case  the  nitrogen  re- 
tention amounted  to  19  to  28  per  cent.,  in  the  latter  case  only  to  2  to 
24  per  cent.  On  the  other  hand,  as  regards  phosphorus  retention,  food 
containing  lecithin  showed  no  advantages,  nor  could  any  influence 
on  fat  and  carbohydrate  metabolism  be  observed.  Calcium  and  mag- 
nesium salts  were,  however,  held  back  by  the  lecithin,  which  is  a 
point  in  favour  of  increased  bone-formation.  The  older  the  chil- 
dren, the  more  evident  was  the  favourable  influence  of  lecithin.  This 
phenomenon  is  perhaps  due  to  the  fact  that  the  body  of  the  suckling 
contains,  according  to  SiwertzerT,  a  large  store  of  lecithin,  which  is 
gradually  used  up  in  the  course  of  the  first  4  to  5  months  of  life. 
Thus,  children  under  5  months  of  age  are  so  richly  supplied  with 
lecithin  that  a  further  supply  becomes  superfluous  and  cannot  be 
utilised.  The  utility  of  the  drug  really  first  becomes  apparent  when 
the  store  of  lecithin  has  been  exhausted. 
Recent  experiments  by  Cronheim  show  that  lecithin  is  not  only 
valuable  during  growth,  but  is  also  of  value  to  adults.  A  fully 
developed  individual  requires  a  certain  amount  of  lecithin  for  the 
maintenance  of  normal  metabolism.  It  is  therefore  justifiable  to 
assume  that  the  drug  is  as  beneficial  for  adults  as  for  children. 
Massaciu  carried  out  the  following  metabolism  experiment  on  a 
man  :  he  was  first  given  meat  and  no  lecithin,  in  the  second  experi- 
mental period  he  received  roborat  containing  lecithin,  and  in  the 
third  period  he  was  given  both  meat  and  lecithin.  The  assimila- 
tion of  nitrogen  was  increased  threefold  in  the  second  period  as 
compared  with  the  first,  the  nitrogen  being  better  utilised  in  the 
intestine.  The  same  occurred  in  the  third  period.  This  furnished 
a  further  proof  of  the  nitrogen-sparing  power  of  lecithin.  The 
author  also  observed  retention  of  phosphorus  during  lecithin  admin- 
istration. Marfori's  results  are  in  agreement  with  this;  he  found 
that  egg-lecithin,  when  subcutaneously  applied,  furnished  the  or- 
ganism with  phosphorus  capable  of  being  assimilated. 
Moricheau  Beauchamp  experimented  on  himself  and  on  a  med- 
ical student  and  found  a  nitrogen-sparing  and  phosphorus-sparing 
action.  The  author  administered  0.5  to  1  gramme  of  lecithin  a  day 
and  found  after  4  days  that  he  had  gained  in  energy  and  that  his 
weight  had  increased  by  900  grammes.  In  the  urine  he  found  a 
decrease  of  nitrogen,  urea,  phosphoric  acid  and  xanthin  bodies. 
