A New Process for the Production of Albumoses.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Oct., 1898-Accepted, 17th Dec., 1898
[Communicated from abroad by THE FARBENFABRIKEN VORMALS FRIEDRICH
BAYER & Co., of Elberfeld, Germany.]
A New Process for the Production of Albumoses.
I, HENRY EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 6, Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to the scientific publications on this subject, no one has succeeded
up to this day in preparing albumoses by the action of acids on albumen or
albuminous matters. In fact, all that is known is that, by a gentle action (see
Neumeister's Manual on Physiological Chemistry, second edition, 1897, on
page 27), acid albumen or syntonines are formed, and that, by a long continued
boiling with mineral acids, the albumen molecule undergoes a considerable
amount of decomposition, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, and amido acids,
being thus obtained (compare Neumeister's said manual, on page 30).
My foreign correspondents have now found that the decomposition of the albu-
men molecule does not proceed so far, and that albumoses are formed, if organic
acids, or salts thereof, such, for instance, as watery solutions of carbonic acid,
acetic acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, benzoic acid, or the like, or
salts thereof, are used instead of mineral acids, in treating the albumen or
albuminous matters at elevated temperatures.
In order to illustrate the new process, my foreign correspondents give the
following example, which is merely typical.
EXAMPLE.
A mixture prepared from 100 kilos., by weight, of meat fibre, 2000 kilos., by
weight of water, and 30 kilos., by weight, of oxalic acid, is heated to about
90 degrees Centigrade in a vessel which is enamelled or covered with lead, and
preferably provided with a stirring apparatus. The mass is kept at the said
temperature for about 15 hours. After this time, it is perfectly neutralised with
slaked lime, or lime water, energetically boiled up, and finally filtered.
The pale yellow filtrate thus obtained is either directly evaporated to dryness,
or purified in the manner known and in use for such purposes, and the albumoses
contained therein are then isolated. Thus, a light yellow product is obtained,
which represents a mixture of several known kinds of albumoses. It contains
only small quantities of peptones.
The oxalic acid prescribed in the above example may be replaced by other
organic acids of the fatty or aromatic series, or salts thereof; the temperature
and the degree of dilution or concentration can be varied within wide limits,
without altering thereby the result of the process. In place of natural albumen,
or albuminous matters, the so-called denaturated albuminous products, such as
acid albumens, syntonines, albuminates (see Neumeisters aforementioned manual,

page_text: which represents a mixture of several kinds of known albumoses, containing but
small quantities of salts.
On using other organic acids, such as citric acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, benzoic
acid, or the like, or acid salts of organic acids, the process proceeds in an analo-
gous manner.
The use of acid salts of organic acids may be illustrated by the following
examples:-
EXAMPLE D.
A mixture prepared from 100 kilos. by weight, of meat fibre free from fat
and glue, 2000 kilos. by weight, of water, and 30 kilos. by weight, of the acid
sodium salt of oxalic acid, is heated to about 90 degrees Centigrade, in a vessel
which is covered with lead, and provided with a stirring apparatus. The mass
is kept at the said temperature for about 15 hours. After this time, it is mixed
with an excess of carbonate of lime, energetically boiled up, and finally filtered.
The pale yellow filtrate thus obtained is evaporated to dryness. Thus, a light
yellow product is obtained, which represents a mixture containing several known
kinds of albumoses. It is practically free from peptone.
EXAMPLE E.
25 kilos. by weight, of casein, 500 litres of water, and 5 kilos. by weight of the
acid sodium salt of tartaric acid, are heated with continuous stirring for about
10 hours, at about 90 degrees Centigrade, in an enamelled vessel. The liquid
is then filtered, and the filtrate is mixed with an excess of carbonate of lime.
The resulting mixture is again filtered, and the filtrate is evaporated to dryness.
Thus, a yellowish powder is obtained which represents a mixture containing
several kinds of known albumoses.
It may be remarked that my foreign correspondents do not intend to confine
themselves to the particulars given in the foregoing specification, as these can
be varied within wide limits, without altering thereby the nature of the present
invention.
Thus, for instance, instead of the albumen compounds mentioned in the exam-
ples, other animal or vegetable albumens, or albuminous matters, can be employed,
or the different kinds of derivatives of albumens, such as acid albumens, synto-
mines, albuminates (see Neumeister's Manual of Physiological Chemistry, 2nd
edition, 1897, on page 29), or the so-called "methylene derivatives" which are
obtained by acting with formic aldehyde on albuminous matters, or the like, can
be used. All these different kinds of bodies are briefly termed albumen com-
pounds."
Instead of lime and carbonate of lime, other suitable neutralizing agents, such
as baryta or the like, can be employed. The degree of concentration of the
reaction mixtures can be varied within wide limits.
The temperatures given can likewise be varied within certain limits, but it is
profitable to raise the temperature of the reaction mixtures not far above 120
degrees Centigrade, because otherwise a considerable amount of peptones will
be formed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed (as communicated to
me from abroad), I declare that what I claim is :-
The process for producing albumoses practically free from peptones, by heating
albumen compounds with solutions of organic acids, or acid salts thereof, sub-
stantially as herein before described.