Note on the Effect of Mixed Diet as Regards Salivary Digestion

Extract

The following research was made with the object of determining whether the digestion of starch is affected favourably or unfavourably by its admixture with other articles of food.

As regards the quantity of saliva secreted per twenty-four hours, this is stated to vary from 200 to 1500 grammes. Investigating this in my own case I found that the average amount was 400 grammes.

Method of Investigation.—Ten grammes of each of the various foods as prepared for the table were accurately weighed out, placed in a large tube, and heated to 38° C. Two cubic centimetres of mixed human saliva were then added. A series of these tubes were prepared, and the whole was placed on a water-bath kept at a uniform temperature of 38° C. At intervals a tube was removed, and the condition of its contents noted.