ABSTRACT
ANIMAL GLANDS ANIMAL glands have been consumed as described in Chapter 2 since recorded history. Some of them have been used in medicine for their healing powers (actual or “magical” in some societies). Through out the body there are a number of internally secreting, ductless glands called endocrine glands that secrete hormones, whose un derproduction or overproduction can cause drastic changes in the body (see Figure 7.1). These glands, saved in larger progressive meat plants for pharmaceutical uses, account for only approximately 0.28% of the animal’s live weight. Digestive enzymes, which are also useful in the medical and pharmaceutical area (see Table 7.1), are obtained from the red portion of the stomach lining around the pylorus (pepsin) from the fourth stomach of the calf (rennin), and from the pancreas [diastase (amylase), lipase, and trypsin]. These hormones and enzymes, along with vitamins, food supplements, and other biological chemicals are often collected and derived from animal by-products collected for that purpose (Tables 7.2, 7.3) at the slaughter industry level.
