AmNo°v.?i886arm'}       Secretion  of  Uric  Acid  in  Man.  571 
rule  for  the  anti-group  of  digestion -products  the  authors  intend  to 
investigate. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  September,  1886,  p.  819;  Zeitsch. 
Biol,  xxii.  423. 
INFLUENCE  OF  GLYCEROL,  SUGAR,  AND  FAT  ON 
THE  SECRETION  OF  URIC  ACID  IN  MAN. 
By  J.  Horbaczewski  and  F.  Kanera. 
A  series  of  experiments  were  conducted  on  one  of  the  authors 
during  a  period  of  seventy  days,  when  the  daily  rations  and  mode 
of  living  were  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  periods  during  which 
varying  daily  amounts  of  glycerol,  sugar,  and  fat  respectively  were 
taken  in  addition  to  the  normal  food.  For  full  details  of  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  food  consumed  and  detailed  analyses  of  the 
excreta  the  original  paper  must  be  consulted.  The  general  results 
were : — 
When  glycerol  is  taken  with  the  daily  food  a  marked  increase  in 
the  amount  of  uric  acid  secreted  takes  place ;  this,  however,  is  only 
the  case  when  free  glycerol  is  taken ;  if  it  is  taken  combined  with 
the  fatty  acids  as  neutral  fats,  it  exerts  no  influence  on  the  formation 
of  uric  acid. 
Cane-sugar,  and  probably  other  carbohydrates,  exert  no  direct 
influence  on  the  formation  of  uric  acid ;  it  causes,  however,  a  marked 
decrease  of  the  secreted  uric  acid,  due  to  the  " albumin- retarding  " 
action  of  the  carbohydrates  and  proportional  to  it.  This  lowered 
secretion  only  continues  as  long  as  cane-sugar  is  taken.  With  the 
stoppage  of  the  sugar,  the  normal  uric  acid  formation  does  not  again 
take  place,  but  the  entire  amount  of  acid  which  was  not  secreted  in 
consequence  of  the  sugar  is  first  passed,  and  then  the  normal  quantity 
begins. 
The  neutral  fats  have  a  similar  influence  on  the  formation  of  uric 
acid  to  that  of  carbohydrates,  but  the  after  effects  are  different.  The 
decrease  in  the  amount  of  acid  is  proportioned  to  the  "  albumin- 
retarding"  action  of  the  fat,  but  when  the  addition  of  fat  to  the  diet 
is  stopped,  the  secretion  of  uric  acid  returns  at  once  to  the  normal 
amount. 
Glycerol  causes  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  albumin  formed  in 
man,  as  it  was  known  to  do  in  the  dog. 
The  authors  consider  that  their  results  have  an  important  bearing 
