Lactose reducing action

The identity test of the B.P. has been modified for tablets and injections by Allport and Jones to give quantitative results. The colour is stable when extracted by ry< /ohexane and deeper than in ethereal solution. Lactose interferes because of its reducing action on copper sulphate. 

Addition of acetic or mineral acid to skimmed milk to reduce the pH value to 4.6, the isoelectric point, will cause the casein to precipitate. As calcium salts have a buffer action on the pH, somewhat more than the theoretical amount of acid must be used. Lactic acid produced in the process of milk souring by fermentation of the lactoses present by the bacterium Streptococcus lactis will lead to a similar precipitation. 

After an overnight fast, a baseline breath hydrogen level is recorded and 50 g of lactose in 180 mL water is drunk, followed by a further 20 mL of water to rinse the mouth and further reduce the possibBity of an early rise in breath hydrogen from the action of oral bacteria. The dose in children should be 2 g/kg up to a maximum of 50 g. Breath hydrogen is then measured at 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. 

The following heterotrisaccharldes are subdivided into linear and branched compounds and each set is categorized by the nature of the reducing moiety. One non-reducing compound, a-lactosyl B-D-fructofuranoslde, has however been described as the product of action of levansucrase on lactose and sucrose and, in the course of... 

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