HYDROLYZED SALIVA AS A SOURCE OF NUTRIENTS ESSENTIAL FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ACID BY AN ORAL STRAIN OF LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS

¹ Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Mass.

1. Saliva hydrolyzed by acid or by alkali has been successfully substituted for casein hydrolyzate as a nutrient in several simplified synthetic media which promote acid production by Lactobacillus acidophilus. This is in contrast to the earlier observation that whole saliva could not be substituted for casein hydrolyzate.

2. It was not necessary to supply 1-tryptophane to the synthetic media when an alkaline hydrolyzate of saliva was present. This finding is in contrast to the earlier observation (3) that whole saliva could not be substituted for free tryptophane. Thus the presence of free tryptophane in alkaline hydrolyzate of saliva is indicated and the previous observation regarding its presence in a combined form in whole saliva is given additional support.

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