Abstract
The external signs of the nutritional failure known as experimental scurvy, which can be produced in young guinea pigs in 16-26 days by feeding a mixture consisting of whole soy bean flour, milk, yeast, paper puip, and inorganic salts, 1 have not been encountered during a period of 75 days in which 10 gm. of raw tomatoes were added daily to the diet. If on the appearance of the clinical scorbutic manifestations attributable to the scurvy-producing diet, 10 gm. of raw tomatoes are added as a daily supplement, the symptoms will subside and the animals will be restored to health.
Tomatoes dried in a blast of air either for 14-24 hours at 55-60° C. or for 36-44 hours at 35-40° C. retain some of their antiscorbutic property. This statement is based on the fact that young guinea pigs receiving a daily addition of 1 gm. of either of such dried products have grown and continued in apparently perfect health for a period three times as long as that within which the usual scorbutic symptoms appear.
Further experiments are being conducted upon this subject.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.