1. The previous finding of the Council, that specimens of Lactopeptine found on the open market are essentially weak saccharated pepsins, is not to be refuted by examination of fresh specimens. Even if it be assumed that all old specimens of Lactopeptine have been withdrawn from the market since the last purchase of specimens for the use of the Council’s referee, there can be no assurance that the stock will be constantly kept fresh. Unless the manufacturers date their product, physicians cannot know that their prescriptions are filled with fresh material. Nor is it reasonable to ask that the Council examine the market supply of any given proprietary at a time selected by the manufacturers.
2. Without entering into all questions of detail in the analyses, the Council is willing to accept the reports of Drs. Benedict and Hawk as representative of fresh Lactopeptine powder. It is therefore unnecessary for the Council to make further experiments along this line. The results of these two chemists in no wise contradict the conclusions of the Council’s referees, being comparable with those obtained by the referee on the fresher specimens used by them. The experiments of Drs. Hawk and Benedict show a degree of tryptic activity which, though chemically not negligible, is quite without significance practically, even if it could be assumed that the trypsin in the fresh Lactopeptine escaped destruction in the stomach. The figures for tryptic activity given by Dr. Benedict do not differ materially from those of the first referee. Those of Professor Hawk show a tryptic activity of from 18 to 20 per cent. of that of commercial pancreatin—and commercial pancreatins ordinarily are of low tryptic activity, if not inert (see Long and Muhleman: Arch. Int. Med., February, 1914, p. 314.) The reports of these chemists present no reason for changing the conclusion that “it is a commercial impossibility to market mixtures of pepsin, pancreatin and lactic acid so that they can display any material tryptic activity.”
The results which Dr. Balch obtained in a test for tryptic activity show a marked discrepancy with those obtained by Drs. Hawk and Benedict, not to mention the Council’s referees, and also with the fact that only about 11 per cent. of “pancreatin” is claimed in the published formula of Lactopeptine. The Council is unable to accept Dr. Balch’s result for trypsin or rennin as reliable. His other results are without significance and call for no special comment.
3. Even if tryptic activity were conceded to Lactopeptine, the preparation, like all preparations containing pepsin and pancreatin, would still be, as previously stated, therapeutically irrational.
The Council approved the report.
Report of Referee A
In view of the manufacturer’s reiteration of the claims for Lactopeptine powder, I have carried out further experiments to determine its proteolytic and amylolytic power.
For the proteolytic test I used fresh, well washed fibrin and examined samples of Lactopeptine powder numbered as follows:
No. 1. A part of the English product examined and reported on last spring.
No. 2. A fresh bottle obtained at a Chicago retail drug store in December, 1913.