Effect of Insulin on the Lactic Fermentation

Abstract

A difficulty which seriously retards the progress of experimental investigations on insulin, as well as its preparation for clinical use, is that of determining even relatively the quantity present in solutions containing it. This research on its effect on the lactic fermentation was undertaken in the hope of developing a more satisfactory assay of insulin preparations than the animal-testing method affords. It was also thought that any effects observed might throw light on the mechanism of its physiological action. The research seemed promising since preliminary experiments had shown that addition of insulin considerably increased the total acid produced by the lactic fermentation as brought about by the organism Lactobacillus bulgaricus.