Malt, from the partially germinated barley Hordeum distichon. Extract of Malt has the consistency of honey and possesses amylolytic properties. The dose is one tablespoonful. It is a most reliable vehicle for many acrid, resinous, oily, or disagreeable drugs. Malt extract is nutritive, tonic, and laxative. Liquid Malt Extract is a fermented malt extract containing a minimum of alcohol. It is combined with hops, like in beer, and serves as a good bitter and reconstructive tonic possessed of slight soporific properties. Diastase is the active ferment in malt, Taka-diastase being the prominent commercial form used in medicine. It is a starch-digesting enzyme derived from Euro-tium oryzae, a mold. This is grown upon hydrolized wheat bran, developing a diastase three times as active as malt diastase. It acts as a starch-digestant and is given in doses of 1 to 5 grains. It is used in amylaceous dyspepsia.

There are other digestants of vegetable origin. Bromelin is an active ferment derived from Ana-nassa sativa, the Pineapple. It has a tryptic action and, especially in neutral solutions, digests vegetable and animal proteids. It is destroyed by heat. It is not very available as a drug, but fresh pineapple juice has considerable digestive power. Do not confuse bromelin with bromalin; the latter is a substitute for the bromides.

Papain, or Papayotin, also known as Caroid, is the concentrated active principle of the juice of Carica papaya, a tropical melon known as the Papaw. It is given in 2- to 5-grain doses with sodium bicarbonate. It aids in dissolving mucus in the stomach in gastric ulcer and other conditions. Papain is the more active agent of the class. A 5% solution in equal parts of glycerin and water dissolves false membrane in croup. These agents are not of as great clinical value as was formerly thought to be the case.