Further Report on the Relation between Chlorine Content and Arakawa's Reaction of Human Milk

Abstract

In the present paper the following five questions are studied:- 1. Monthly variation of chlorine content in Arakawa-positive and -negative milk. 2. Variation of the chlorine content of Arakawa-positive and -negative milk according to the periods of lactation. 3. Variation of the chlorine content of Arakawa-positive and-negative milk according to the age of mothers. 4. Side of breasts and its relation to the chlorine content of human milk according to Arakawa's reaction. 5. Chlorine content of human milk with very different re, action on different sides of breast. Nozaki1) for the first time reported that the milk positive to Arakawa's reaction is poor in chlorine and that it is a good milk, while the milk negative to Arakawa's reaction is, he reported, rich in chlorine and a bad one. Now I have again, as above described, demonstrated this fact in a much larger number of milk samples and shown that chlorine content of clinically Arakawa-positive milk is 0.349 grins. per litre and that of clinically Arakawa-negative milk is 0.507 grms. per litre. Further I have shown that, if samples within one month after the delivery are excluded, chlorine content of Arakawa-positive milk is 0.345 grins. per litre, that of Arakawa-negative milk is 0.482 grins. per litre, or that of completely negative milk is 0.613 grins. per litre (Cf. Table 13, A and B). 1. Monthly variation of chlorine content shows that it is higher in hot seasons and lower in cold seasons both in Arakawa-positive and Arakawa-negative milks. 2. As to the chlorine content of human milk according to Arakawa's reaction and to periods of lactation, it is the richest in chlorine in colostrum period both in Arakawa-positive and -negative milk. And the content keeps almost constant from the 2nd month of lactation up to the end of lactation period; then it will again increase, though it will not attain so high a figure as in colostrum milk. Supplementally, colostrum milk was investigated. Here also Arakawa-positive milk is poorer in chlorine than the Arakawa-negative, and a striking difference between them is found, the chlorine content of Arakawa-positive, -negative and completely negative milk being 0.440, 0.650 and 0.703 grms. per litre respectively with the deviations +48% and +60%, as is shown in Table 9. 3. Concerning the variation of the chlorine content of Arakawa-positive and -negative milk according to the age of mothers, there is a gradual increase of milk chlorine, as the age of mother advances. 4. As to the chlorine content of human milk according to Arakawa's reaction and to different sides of breast, the left breast is only slightly poorer in chlorine than the right one, chlorine content being 0.467 grms. per litre on the right and 0.449 grms. per litre on the left (Cf. Table 12). And if chlorine figures are distributed according to the intensity of Arakawa's reaction, it follows that it increases little by little as the reaction becomes weaker. See the reactions: (_??_) 1'reaction with 0.349, (+) 1' with 0.441, (±) 1' with 0.464, (-) 1' with 0.547 and (-) 5' with 0.636 grms. per litre (Cf. Table 13. A). 5. In the case of one and the same mother with very different reaction on different sides of breast, milk of the positive side is poorer in chlorine (0.437 grms. per litre) than that of the negative one (0.622 grms. per litre) with the deviation +42% (Cf. Table 15).