has stimulated efforts to determine the cause of their beneficial effects.Marriott1 believes that the effects are achieved by the neutralization of the buffer action of cow's milk. Exhaustive studies by Schiff and Mosse2 and by M\l=u"\ller3 do not substantiate such a view, although they do not offer a substitute. Moreover, Moll's4 contention that equally good results are obtained with alkaline buttermilk, i. e., milk curdled by the addition of calcium chloride, has not been disputed. The effects of lactic acid on the absorption of inorganic salts were studied by Klotz.5 During the last decade, many contributions on lactic acid metabolism have appeared. The possibility presents itself that the effects of lactate milk are due directly to the lactate ion. At the suggestion of Dr. Gy\l=o"\rgy, I investigated the metabolism of the lactate ion in infants. PROCEDURE I determined the lactate content of the blood of healthy infants who had fasted for four hours and at intervals of one-half to three and one-half hours after they had received food containing lactic acid. The lactic acid given was twenty-five times the total amount and thirty times the concentration of lactate normally found in the blood. Determinations were then made before and after a nonacid feeding, on the same infants when possible. An interval of at least one week was allowed between
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.