THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
JUNE,  1883. 
ON  THE  RAPID  DETERMINATION  OF  THE  VALUE  OF 
EXTRACT  OF  MALT. 
By  J.  F.  Carl  Jungk,  FremoDt,  Ohio. 
It  is  customary  to  consider  an  extract  of  malt  good,  if  it  readily 
dissolves  in  water,  has  a  pleasant  taste  and  also  remains  unfermented 
for  a  long  time.  Worthless  preparations  may  have  all  these  properties, 
therefore  such  an  examination  is  only  superficial.  Thus  far  no  conve- 
nient process  has  been  published  by  which  the  pharmacist  or  physician 
may  convince  himself  of  the  value  of  extract  of  malt.  Such  a  process 
in  daily  use  by  me,  may  therefore  be  of  interest.  A  good  extract  of 
malt  should,  I  think,  possess  the  following  properties  in  addition  to 
those  noted  above. 
I.  The  extract  should  be  light  in  color ;  dark  colored  preparations 
are  partly  burned,  therefore  contain  neither  active  diastase  nor  soluble 
albumen,  and  diifer  from  ordinary  molasses  only  in  containing  dextrin. 
II.  The  free  acid  should  not  be  present  over  a  certain  proportion. 
III.  The  proportion  of  water  and  solid  matters  should  be  within 
certain  limits. 
lY.  The  principal  determination  is  that  of  the  diastastic  strength. 
A  good  extract  should  contain  all  soluble  substances  of  the  malt,  of 
which  diastase  is  the  principal  one.  If  the  extract  contains  no  diastase 
it  differs  little  from  honey  or  any  other  saccharine  preparation.  The 
action  of  diastase  on  amylaceous  substances  is  wanted  if  the  extract  is 
to  possess  any  value  for  a  sick  stomach  at  all. 
Liebig  uses  powdered  malt  in  preparing  his  infants'  food  in  order  to 
change  the  starchy  matter  before  it  enters  the  stomach,  into  easily 
digestible  compounds.  If  we  consider  how  much  amylaseous  food  we 
use  which  could  be  changed  by  a  small  quantity  of  diastastic  extract 
of  malt  into  dextrin  and  sugar,  the  value  of  such  a  preparation  in  the 
process  of  digestion  is  readily  seen.  Although  the  saliva  possesses  the 
same  properties  as  the  diastase  of  the  malt,  the  action  of  the  latter  is 
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