THE BIO-CHEMISTRY OF ANIMALS AND 



PLANTS 



By O. ROSENHEIM, Ph.D. 



Lecturer on Chemical Physiology, King s College, London 



Table of Contents 



PAGE 



The Nitrogenous Cycle ....... Vol. II. 676 



Nitrification, Denitrification, N-Fixation. 



The Synthesis of Proteins 681 



In Moulds, Yeasts, Higher Plants and Animals. 



The Vegetable Proteins 687 



History, Occurrence and Properties, Constitution, Classification. 



The Significance of Proteins in the Plant. . Vol. III. 106 



Alkaloids, Indol-derivatives, Glucosides. 



Phytotoxins, Toxolecithides 109 



Lipoids and their Biological Importance 112 



Inosite 117 



Organic Phosphoric Acids, Phytin, Inosic Acid, etc. . . .118 

 Chlorophyll and its Relation to Hemoglobin . . . .120 



PART II 



The Significance of Proteins in Plants. — In the present state of 

 our knowledge of protein metabolism in plants it is difficult to 

 form a definite opinion as to the significance of nitrogen in the 

 vegetable world. So much is certain : that this element does 

 not play the same role as in the animal body. In animals 

 protein, in addition to the part it plays in repairing tissue- 

 waste, serves as a source of energy. In certain lower plant 

 organisms, such as the bacteria which act as nitrifying, deni- 

 trifying, or ureolytic agents, the necessary energy is doubtless 

 furnished by nitrogenous substances, but this is quite excep- 

 tional. The place of the nitrogenous materials in the higher 

 plants is taken by carbohydrates and fats, and the importance 

 of nitrogen seems to consist in its use as a building material 

 for the " organo-protein " in Voit's sense of the term, as opposed 

 to " circulating protein." Expressing this statement, according 

 to Voit's view, one might say that the " circulating protein," in 



relation to " organo-protein," plays quantitatively a greater role 



106 



