Serologically active fractions from 8 strains of Streptococcus faecalis, each with a different type antigen, were obtained by partial purification on a DEAE-cellulose column. By qualitative analysis of the hydrolysates of these fractions it was shown that glucose and glucosamine were always present, galactosamine and galactose were generally present. Arabinose was present as a minor component in some cases, whereas rhamnose was never found. Some evidence suggested that the glucose present in these hydrolysates was at least partly derived from the group D teichoic acid. N-acetylglucosamine or N-acetylgalactosamine and their corresponding hexoses were the main inhibitors of the quantitative precipitin reaction in 4 out of 8 type antigen systems investigated. In the type 19 system the two N-acetylhexosamines but no other sugars were inhibitory. No inhibition by simple sugars was observed with the remaining three systems. The conditions required to obtain serologically active extracts are discussed. Two kinds of inhibitors formed during HCl extraction were isolated.
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