The Action of KCN and NaN(3) on the Bacterial Metabolism Part 1. The Action of KCN and NaN(3) on Bacteria grown on Plain Agar

With the use of Sh. flexneri 2 a, St. aureus, and St. albus, the standard strains stocked in our laboratory, as the test bacteria, the author studied the effects of KCN and NaN(3) on the enzymatic activity of resting cells grown on plain agar and obtained the following results: 1. Differing as they do in the degree of inhibitory action on the catalase and peroxidase activities according to different bacteria, both KCN(3) show a marked inhibitory action with Sh. flexneri 2 a and a moderate inhibitory action with St. albus. In the case of St. aureus, KCN even in a high concentration does not inhibit the catalase and peroxidase activities, while NaN(3) with the same strain shows a moderate inhibitory action. 2. Likewise the effects of two drugs on the oxygen consumption differ according to different bacteria; namely, KCN with Sh. flexneri 2 a shows a strong inhibitory action; with St. albus a moderate inhibition; and with St. aureus an extremely slight degree of inhibition. Although NaN(3) shows only a slight influence on Sh. flexneri 2 a and St. albus, it shows a marked inhibitory action with St. aureus. 3. As for the aerobic glucolysis of these bacteria both KCN and NaN(3) generally act to interfer complete oxidation, and with the addition of KCN to the culture medium the accumu lation of lactic acid increases on one hand and with NaN(3) that of acetic acid. Even under anareobic condition likewise lactic acid is accumulated increasingly with the addition of KCN while an increase in the accumulation in acetic acid with NaN(3) addition.