On the proportion of nitrogen contained in alimentary substances taken from both the organic kingdoms as a comparative measure of their nutritive power.

  • Schlossberger, J., Dr.
Date:
[1845]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the proportion of nitrogen contained in alimentary substances taken from both the organic kingdoms as a comparative measure of their nutritive power. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    3/12 (page 3)
    proteine, in regard to their formation and chemical constitu- tion, seem to lie in close relation, although that relation is at present not perfectly understood*. The experience of our best physicians at the bedside of the patient tends to prove that during convalescence a well-prepared gelatinous diet, but not exclusively gelatinous, is highly nutritious. All organic alimentary substances, as presented to us by nature, are mixtures, but seem to be pretty constant in their composition, although variously modified by our dilFerent modes of cooking them. Of such natural mixtures, the greater part taken from vegetable bodies have already had the proportion of nitrogen contained in them determined by pre- vious observers; and we believe we shall best introduce the subject by a concise representation of that which has been done in regard to the vegetable part of our aliments, which will likewise afford the best means of comparing the results of our experiments on animal substances. The following table shows the amount of nitrogen contained in 100 parts of the dry vegetable bodies named in it:— Rice . Potatoes Turnips Rye . Oats . Wheat Carrots Barley Maize Peas . Lentils Haricots Beans White bread Brown bread Glasgow unfermentec Essex flour . Canada flour Lothian flour United States flour Agaricus deliciosus ... russula . ... cantharellus 2-0 bi to eac 1-39 1- 5 1*7 1*7 2*2 2- 3 2- 4 2-0 2-0 3- 8 4- 4 4- 5 5- 1 2-27- 2-63 2- 14 2*17 2-21 1*96 1-82. 4-6 4-2 3- 2 j Boussingault, Economic Rurale. Paris, 1844, tome 2“®, p. 438. > R. D. Thomson, in the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Maga- zine for November 1843. Schlossberger and Doejjping, Liebig’s Annalen for October 1844, Chemical Gazette, July 15, 1845. Boussingault has calculated from the results of his experi- * See Mulder’s Chemistry of Animal and Vegetable Physiology, trans- lated by Fromberg, .319 and following pages. B 2