Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-02-11

most often found accumulated IN the seeds
of plants, and especially in those of the
cereals and legumes. While being spe-
cially interested in the vegetable albumi-
noids, we must not overlook the animal
albuminoids, which greatly resemble, and
often seem to be identical with, the vege-
table albuminoids. 1t will be profitable to
notice these two kinds of matter connect
lively. 1t seems to be pretty well estab-
lished fact that in animals the albuminoids
60 to the building up of the body and to
the manufacture of new tissues, as opposed
to the amyloids and fats, which seem mere
ly to serve as fuel for the generation of
heat and vital forces.
Most of the albuminoids may be classed
under three sub groups, the representa-
tives Of which are albumen, fbrine and
caseine. Most of the albuminoids occur in
at least two forns, the one being soluble in
water, the other insoluble. In living or
undecayed animals we have them in the
soluble state, dissolved in the juices of the
body, from which they may be separated
by evaporation. The insoluble albumi-
noids, when pure, are white, hocky,
lumpy or fbrous, odorless and tasteless
bodies. They are sometimes found In the
cells of plant and animal organisms. 1t
seems to be a characteristic of the albumi.
noids that by treating the insoluble ones
with various chemical reagents, or by rails
ing the temperature, they are converted
into the insoluble form. When heated the
albuminoids melt and burn with smoky
flame, and with the peculiar odor of burnt
hair or horn, leaving behind shining res.
idue which is hard to consume by further
heat. The chemist easily distinguishes the
albuminoids by the characteristic reactions
they give with iodine, chlorhydric (muri-
atic1 acid, nitric acid and nitrate of silver.
THESE CHEMICAL BODIES,
When applied to substance containing
any of the albuminoids, impart colors to
the compound, which are well.defned and
easily recognizable, and SO delicate that
even microscopic quantities of the albumi-
noids may be detected. Iodine gives an in
tensely yellow or bronze color Chlorhy-
dric acid a blue or violet nitric acid an
intensely yellow color and nitrate of sill
yer imparts deep red color to the
aibumlnoids. As an example of animal
albumen, We may take the dried
white of an egg. Albumen is found
in the soluble form in the blood
and in most liquids of the body. The al
bumen of the blood and thatofthe crystalline
tense of the eye differ slightly from the
albumen of the egg, but thu sdiffsrence is
SO slight that they are generally regarded,
and practically, are essentially the same.
A substance is found In the juices of all
plants which has very striking resem.
blance to animal albumin, and it has on
that account been termed vegetable albu-
men. The juice of the potato, after the
starch has been allowed to settle and the
clear liquid decanted or filtered off, may be
made to yield vegetable albumen by
heating to near the boiling point, which
causes lit to coagulate if now this be
boiled successfully with alcohol and ether
to remove the fats and eoloring matter, we
will have a substance which can hardly be
distinguished, physically or chemically,
from animal albumen. Many other plants
and vegetable products will, on being
treated in the same manner, also yield al
bumen. We may say generally, that the
soluble form of albumen Is converted into
the insoluble form (coagulates) by heat, by
addition of strong alcohol, and by adding
small quantities of dilute acids. 1t proba-
bly, has been noticed by every one that
fresh blood on standing soon coagulates or
clots, i. e., separates into two liquids.
These are the serum, which contains albu-
men, and the clot, which consists chiefly
of tibrire. This clot, by continued wash
ing with water, may be reduced to
a white, stringy mass, which is almost
cure animal hbrine. Fibrine is only
known in the soluble state in
fresh blood, and owing to the rapidity with
which blood coagulates it is almost impos-
sible to separate hbrine from the blood ex-
cept in the insoluble form. Fibrine may be
got from lean flesh by simply washing to
remove the coloring matter. This consti-
tutes the fibers of the animal muscles, and
hence the name fibrine. A similar form of
vegetable fibrine may be got from wheaton
dough by continued washing, which re-
moves the starch and albumen, leaving a
tenacious yellow mass known as gluten,
which is a mixture of several albuminoids,
starch, fat and fibrine. This last may be
made by treating the sldten with alcohol,
which dissolves the fibrine. Fibrine may be
procured in the solid form from this by
evaporatiDg off the alcohol. Vegeta-
bic fibrine differs slightly in chemical
composition from animal ibrine and has no
fibrous structure, but when dry it forms
tough, horn-like substance. The curd OF
milk may be taken as the most common ex-
ample of caseine. 1t is the peculiar ingredi-
ent of new cheese. Caseine may be coagu-
lated from fresh milk by heating it with
acids, with some salts OF lime and magne-
STUN, aud by treating it with rennet (the
49, ~
stance resembling animal clseine can be pre-
pared from most seeds OF the leguminous
plants, and in small quantities from the
potato, oats, wheat, rye and other grains.
This product is vegetable caseine, and it
undergoes the same changes when treated
with acids, salts, and rennet as does ami
NAL caseine. The Chinese make sort of
cheese from the "pap" obtained from boil
ing peas. The exact chemical competition
and the mutual relations of the different
members of
THE ALBUMINoIDs
Have never been very satisfactorily demon.
strated. Their functions, however. seem
to be pretty we'll understood. In the ami
NAL body the albuminoids contained in the
food are dissolved by the gastric juice Of
the stomach, from which they pass into the
blood, forming blood-albumen and blood
fibrine. Accordingly as the blood nourishes
the muscles or the tactical system, the al
bumen and fbyine of the blood is converted
into flesh fibrine or into caseine. In other
parts of the system, as in the egg, embryo,
etc, they are changed into albumen. In
plant life. relatively similar actions seem
to take place among the vegetable albu-
minoids. Flesh fbrine, if exposed to the
open air in moist, warm atmosphere,
would dissolve into a liquid, which on
boiling would coagulate, giving substance
much resembling albumen. Caseine may
be separated from the liquid part by treat
ing it with vinegar (acetlc acid}. So far as
is known, it seems as if the animal organ
isms were of themselves incapable OF pro-
ducing any of the albuminoids. They only
have the power to transform and to assimi-
late the members of the groups Of the prox-
innate elements when they are presented
to them by outside bodies. When it Is re-
membered that the albuminoids constitute
large part of the organism, and especially
of the working parts of the healthy animal
body, it will readily be seen that they are
indispensable ingredients of food, and Lie
big has called them "the plastic elements
of nutrition" These elements are always
constructed by plants, and are by them
placed at the disposal of the animal king
dom. The albuminoids being easily trans
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