of albumoses,—1.17; in the form of peptone,—trace; in the form of meat bases,—6.81; in the form of ammonia compounds,—.47; in the form of un-*enumerated compounds,—.83. The chief meat bases which form the principal part of the substance are creatin, creatinin, xanthin, carnin and carnic acid.
There are many different forms of beef extract upon the market, sometimes called by fanciful names and sometimes by the name of the manufacturer. Among the fanciful names are some which indicate origin or kind. The extracts which bear the names of the manufacturers are very numerous, but all of these extracts are essentially of the same character. One of these is a meat extract in which some of the meat fiber is contained. The quantity of meat fiber which is used varies, but is not very great. A comparison of the dry substance in a preparation of the class mentioned above with the dry substance in meat shows the following relation:
Protein. Meat Bases. Ash and Mineral Matter.
Percent. Percent. Percent.
Extract, 49.7 25.6 24.7
Meat, 86.7 7.8 5.3
The above data show that the extract is essentially different in its composition from dried meat and has added to it a large quantity of meat fiber or the meat rendered soluble by some kind of treatment.
Nutritive Properties.—It cannot be denied that meat extract, as has been said in the case of soup stock, contains only a small part of nutritive matter. This nutritive substance is in a state of solution and probably is more readily absorbed than a similar amount of other nutritives in the form of ordinary meat. Its chief value as a nutrient, therefore, is not in the amount of nutrient material which it contains, but in the ease and speed with which it may become absorbed into the circulation. In case of illness this is often a very important point. It is not a question so much of the utilization of a large amount of nutrients as the absorption and assimilation in small quantities which will sustain life until the disordered conditions disappear. For these reasons the meat extracts have a value. There is, however, little doubt of the fact that in the popular mind a great deal more credit is given to meat extracts than should properly belong to them. They must be regarded principally as condimental and incident to nutrition rather than as nutritive substances. The claims which are made by the manufacturers are sometimes misleading, as, for instance, that one pound of extract contains the nutritive properties of many pounds of meat. Such a statement, of course, is absurd upon its face and should not be allowed to go unchallenged. Even when meat extracts are reinforced by the addition of soluble or comminuted fiber, as is often the case, the quantity of nourishment is very small as compared with a similar weight of meat itself.
