Albumoses
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Albumoses are the first products of protein breakdown, formed by digestive enzymes. They are not a chemically distinct group but a mixture of substances grouped by physical properties, primarily precipitation reactions. They are precipitated by cold nitric acid and potassium ferrocyanide with acetic acid, and by ammonium sulfate, unlike later breakdown products like peptones.
Encyclopedia article (1928–1936)
Albumoses, the first products of protein breakdown, formed under the influence of digestive enzymes. A. do not represent a chemically distinct group, but a mixture of substances conditionally united on the basis of external physical signs, mainly by precipitation reactions. A. are precipitated by cold nitric acid and K4Fe(CN)8 with acetic acid; upon heating the precipitates dissolve and re-precipitate upon cooling. A. are precipitated, in contrast to the products of further protein breakdown—peptones—by saturating the solution with ammonium sulfate. They give a biuret reaction with a more reddish tint than native proteins. They are precipitated by ordinary protein precipitators (HgCl2, alkaloid reagents); precipitated by alcohol, but not denatured. From neutral and weakly acidic solutions they do not precipitate upon heating. Different authors divide A. into further categories according to their relation to precipitators and solubility: primary A. [precipitate upon partial saturation with (NH4)2SO4]; secondary (precipitate upon saturation with this salt); deuteroalbumoses, heteroalbumoses, protoalbumoses (see).
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“Albumoses.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/albumoses/