Abstract
Further studies have been carried out in an effort to determine the nature of the goiter-producing substance contained in cabbage and other vegetables. 1 , 2
It was first considered advisable to attempt to find out whether or not this goiter-producing factor was soluble in water. Cabbage was steamed for 30 minutes, hashed and pressed until 50% of the total weight had been removed. The residue thus obtained had previously been shown 2 to contain a considerable proportion of the goiter-producing substance. Samples of this residue were washed with one and two volumes of water respectively, at room temperature and the water removed by pressing. As shown in the accompanying table, no marked change in the goiter-producing power occurred in either instance. Similarly, boiling the above residue for 15 minutes in 2 volumes of water, and pressing to its original weight did not materially alter its goitrogenic power.
Studies were then made of the effect on the goitrogenic power of cabbage of extracting with water at various hydrogen ion concentrations. The fraction which remained, after removal of 50% of the total weight as juice, from steamed hashed cabbage, was allowed to stand for 15 minutes at room temperature in 2 volumes of water to which sufficient hydrochloric acid had been added to bring the pH of the mixture to 3.0. The water was then pressed out and the residue fed to rabbits. Such a procedure invariably produced a definite increase in the goiter-producing power of the cabbage. Boiling the cabbage in 2 volumes of water at pH 3.0 for 15 minutes further increased its goitrogenic power. Boiling at pH 3.0 for 30 minutes gave no detectable improvement over boiling for 15 minutes.
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