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Abstract

1. Cream, proteins, and salts can be removed from human milk with only small losses of bifidus activity. 2. For the separation from lactose, processes have been developed using adsorption and elution on charcoal or fractional precipitation. 3. The lactose-free, active concentrates upon hydrolysis gave acetic acid and four sugars, d-glucosamine, l-fucose, d-glucose, and d-galactose. All of the latter were identified through crystallized derivatives. Acetylation gave inactive chloroform-soluble, peracetyl compounds from which the bifidus-active N-containing oligo- and polysaccharides could be regenerated. 4. By chromatography on charcoal and on paper, at least four different active components have been found. All of them contained N-acetyl-glucosamine units. All were levorotatory but one, which was lacking in l-fucose and was dextrorotatory. 5. The nitrogen-free saccharides obtained from the lactose-free concentrates of human milk by chromatography did not show any bifidus activity.