Comm. NT: 2. A more detailed exposition of nutriment is given at M-a I 107ff.
Āhārepaṭikkūlabhāvanāvaṇṇanā
‘It nourishes’ (āharati)”: the meaning is that it leads up, fetches, produces, its own fruit through its state as a condition for the fruit’s arising or presence, which state is called “nutriment condition.”
It is made into a mouthful (kabalaṃ karīyati), thus it is physical (kabaliṅkāra). In this way it gets its designation from the concrete object; but as to characteristic, it should be understood to have the characteristic of nutritive essence (ojā). It is physical and it is nutriment in the sense stated, thus it is physical nutriment; so with the rest.
It touches (phusati), thus it is contact (phassa);
for although this is an immaterial state, it occurs also as the aspect of touching on an object (ārammaṇa—lit. “what is to be leaned on”),
which is why it is said to have the characteristic of touching.
It wills (cetayati), thus it is volition (cetanā); the meaning is that it arranges (collects) itself together with associated states upon the object. Mental volition is volition occupied with the mind.
It cognizes (vijānāti) by conjecturing about rebirth (see XVII.303), thus it is consciousness (viññāṇa = cognition)