The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1913-05-29

degrees, Fahrenheit or when exposed
long to air, and has an acrid taste and
acid reaction.
Forms of Papain.
According to DR.. H Huybertsz the
Ceylon authority commercial papain
is prepared in granular and powdered
forms. The natural color of the form
er is a light brown, which becomes
darker when exposed to the air for any
length of time. Powdered papain is
of a. light biscuit color, which does not
change on exposure to air; a darker
colored powdered papain indicates
adulteration or improper preparation.
DR.. Huybertsz states that European
and American importers object to pa
pain in its natural color and insist
that it be white or at least light This,
he says, is a great mistake as it can
only be obtained by bleaching. a pro-
cess which sacrifices therapeutic ef-
ficacy for pharmaceutical appearance.
The taste of papain4 is slightly salt
ish and somewhat acrid. It has a Pc
culiar unmistakable smell, and the
feel" of granular papain should be
crisp like biscuit and easily crushed
between the fingers. When it is
drughy or sticky it has been aduIter-
ated and badly prepared. 1t also has
slight escharotic action and collectors
of the fresh juice have the skin of
their finger tips blistered. When
mixed with water it has soapy feel.
Its authorizations are many and often
difficult to detect and range from
dough and breadcrumbs coated with
the fresh juice and dried to the addi-
tion of gutta -percha and wild cactus
milk. DR.. HubertsZ quotes as follows
from a medical journal:
AT present crude material pre-
pared by natives, and containing
abundant adulteration, Is purchased
.cheaply by local firms, who export it
as papain or papaya juice. Its prepa-
rationis primitive, and consists only of
drying it in the sun or over a smoky
fire, and Of thickening by the addition
of starchy matter. such as rice, congee,
bread, flour, arrowroot, biscuit, etc.
Recently the native has resorted to the
use OF. a dangerous adulterative mater
rial. viz. the milk from the gutta per-
cha and wild cactus. The latter has
irritant properties, acting as a caustic.
The comparative failure of papain as a
therapeutic agent is undoubtedly ex-
planned in part by the sophistication
to which 1t has been subjected
Growing Trade.
Up to comparatively few years
ago the value of papain was little un-
derstood and it was mostly used in
making chewing gum and mucilagi-
nous products. Since then the United
States, Germany and England have
imported considerable quantities
However, the exports Of papain from
Ceylon to the United States amounted
to only $1,400 In 1911 and $4,000 in
1912. The chief reason for this seems
to be that American importers prefer
the inferior qualities from the West In
dies: also they desire q white or
pleacl1ed papain, which the Ceylon ma
tive Is not always in a position to sup
ply. American importers could, with
out much difficulty. procure an almost
unlimited supply of the best unaduI-
terated Ceylon papain If they were
willing to pay a slightly better price
fort than for the West Indies product
and would accept II in its natural
state.
Fifteen years ago the price of crude
papain In the London markets was ap
proximatelys $3.50 per pound now the,
price for medium first quality is about
$1.87 In London and $2.10 In New York.
As the Ceylon native asserts that he
cannot deliver his dried papain in Co.
iornbo for less than $1.90 per pound III
vii be seen that with the prices pre-
vailing there is no great profit In 1t ait
present for the exporter.