THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
FEBRUARY,    187  2. 
PEPSIN.  A  NEW,  PRACTICAL  AND  RELIABLE  METHOD  TO 
PREPARE  IT;  ITS  PROPERTIES  AND  DIGESTIVE  STRENGTH. 
By  E.  Sciieffer. 
When  publishing  my  paper  upon  Saccharated  Pepsin  (Amer.  Journ, 
of  Pharm.  Jan.,  1871)  my  intention  was  to  continue  the  experiments, 
then  only  hinted  at,  and  to  publish  the  results.  I  have  since  made  a 
large  number  of  experiments,  some  of  which  I  deem  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  be  made  known,  although  my  researches  are  not  finished. 
The  various  methods  for  the  preparation  of  Pepsin,  as  given  by 
different  authors,  seem  to  be  intended  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
periments, and  are  so  complicated  that  the  difference  in  the  proper- 
ties characterizing  the  products  is  readily  accounted  for.  The  stu- 
dent of  physiology  may  not  shun  the  trouble  attending  these  pro- 
cesses, but  the  manufacturer  could  not  possibly  resort  to  them,  even 
if  he  was  so  inclined  and  no  doubt  wished  for  a  more  simple  and  prac- 
tical method. 
The  author  of  Leop.  Gmelin's  Hand-book  of  Chemistry,  in  the  last 
volume  of  the  work  (issued  in  1870)  says,  under  the  heading  of  Pep- 
sin :  "  The  Pepsin  of  commerce  is  either  mucus  of  the  stomach, 
scraped  off  and  dried,  or  a  mixture  of  Pepsin,  Peptons  and  Starchy 
containing  a  little  lactic  acid."  In  what  way  these  commercial  pep- 
sins were  prepared  it  is  difficult  to  say,  as  most  manufacturers  have 
their  own  way  and  keep  it  a  secret ;  but  in  Europe,  as  well  as  in  this 
country,  most  of  these  preparations  died  almost  as  soon  as  they  were 
brought  into  existence,  as  they  did  not  come  up  to  what  they  were 
represented  to  be. 
In  the  summer  of  1870,  while  working  on  and  experimenting  with 
Liquid  Pepsin  (Amer.  Journal  of  Pharm.  March,  1870,)  and  at  the  same 
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