ANTACIDS: THEIR EFFECT BY TITRATION AND WITHIN THE HUMAN STOMACH*

O F the various forms of treatment used in peptic ulcer, acid neutralization therapy has held the most prominent position for over one hundred years. In the quest for a better antacid many substances have been tried but no ideal agent has been found. Many virtues have been attributed to these com-pounds but as far as is known their chief value lies in their acid reducing property. We have, therefore, made analyses of some of the more com-monly used substances on a basis in which their neutralizing capacity by titration can be compared with their antacid property within the human stomach. It has been repeatedly shown that the amounts of acid and other gastric secretions vary, not only in different individuals but also from time to time in each subject. Careful work by Hollander * seems to corroborate Pavlov's theory that the concentration of acid secreted is constant but the amount produced varies. Although no pure parietal secretion has been obtained, it has been calculated that a concentration of 0.17 N HC1, isotonic with blood