The Effects of Yeast Ingestion on the Com- Position of the Urine and Feces*

The object of this investigation has been (a) to determine the changes in the chemical composition of the urine and feces due to the ingestion of bakers’ yeast and the relation of these changes to intestinal putrefaction and (b) to determine whether yeast used under controlled conditions has a laxative action. The use of yeast in the treatment of constipation is not a new or unusual practice, for Ebers’ Papyrus (l), which is one of the most ancient medicopharmaceutical manuscripts, dated about 1500 B.C., recommended a combination of milk, yeast, and honey. Combe (2) has reported the work of several investigators who studied the use of yeast in the correction of alimentary disorders and intestinal putrefaction. Hawk and his coworkers (3) and Welker and Heintz (4) have found yeast to be of value in the treatment of constipation. Murlin and Mattill (5) have presented a comprehensive review of the work of a number of French investigators who used yeast successfully as a corrective for both constipation and diarrhea. Still and Koch (6, 7) have found that yeast ingestion caused a greater regularity and ease of evacuation, although the moisture content of the feces was not noticeably increased.