Vitamin D in ergot of rye / by Edward Mellanby, Ella Surie, and Douglas Creese Harrison.
- Edward Mellanby
- Date:
- [1929?]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Vitamin D in ergot of rye / by Edward Mellanby, Ella Surie, and Douglas Creese Harrison. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![develops is responsible to any extent for the presence of the vitamin. If the fungus and its sclerotium were tbe responsible agent, there was a possibility that other types of fungi would contain vitamin D. To test this point an experiment was made to see whether the ordinary edible mushroom (Agaricus campestris) had any calcifying action. It may be mentioned that Gerard [1892, 1895] found ergosterol not only in ergot of rye but in the whole group of Cryptogams—Basidiomycetes, Myxomycetes, Ascomycetes, Oomycetes and lichens. It seemed possible, therefore, that mushrooms might contain the calcifying vitamin. In the one experiment carried out this did not prove to be the case. In view of the negative result we then turned our attention to rye germ. The specimens used, so far as we know, were not ergotised. Two samples were tested, one obtained from millers in Belgium, and the other from Germany. Both samples looked uniform in composition and microscopic examination did not reveal any evidence of the presence of mycelial threads. In the following experiment, which shows that rye germ itself has slight calcifying properties, the germ used was of German origin. The effect of rye germ on calcification. Exp. 7. Four puppies of the same litter were given a rickets-producing diet, in addition to which 1505 received white flour only; 1506 received a mixture of 80 % white flour and 20 % rye germ; 1510 received 80 % white flour and 20 % rye germ which had been extracted with light petroleum; 1504 received 100 % white flour and the light petroleum extract of rye germ equivalent to that used for 1506. Age at beginning: 6 weeks. Duration of experiment: 12 weeks. Basal diet: 25 g. separated milk powder, 20g. lean meat, 10 cc. peanut oil, 2-5 g. dried yeast, 3 cc. orange juice, 2 g. sodium chloride. Weight at time Initial of X-ray Gain wt. Clinical and radiographic No. of Variations weight (12 wks.) in 12 wks. diagnosis of bone animal in diet g- g- g- condition 1504 White flour 100 % + light petroleum ext. of rye germ 2625 6220 3595 Slight rickets, less than 1505 1505 White flour 100 % 2650 6250 3600 Rickets 1506 White flour 80 % + rye germ 20 % 2585 6320 3735 Rickets, rather more than 1505 1510 White flour 80 % + rye germ after ex¬ traction with light petroleum 20 % 2505 6200 3695 Bad rickets: more than 1506 This experiment shows that the light petroleum extract of rye germ contains some calcifying factor. It will also be noticed that rye germ itself does not bring about the improvement in calcification produced by its extract. The reason for this is seen in animal 1510, for, in this case, when the fraction of the rye germ soluble in light petroleum has been removed, the residue actually makes the condition of the bones worse. In other words, rye germ,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30627904_0006.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
