PROTEINS. 



79 



The amide of aspartic acid, asparagine, is very widely distributed 

 in the vegetable kingdom. The crystalline form of aspartic acid 

 is exhibited in Fig. 28. 



Aspartic acid has been found among the decomposition products 

 of all the proteins examined, except the protamines. It has not been 

 obtained, however, in very large proportion from any of them. The 

 aspartic acid obtained from protein is Isevo-rotatory. 



Glutamic Acid, C 5 H 9 NO 4 . This acid is a-amino -normal- glutaric 

 acid and as such bears the following graphic formula: 



NH, 



in 



COOH 



CH 2 

 CH 2 -COOH. 



Glutamic acid is yielded by all the proteins thus far examined, 

 except the protamines, and by most of these in larger amount than 

 any other of their decomposition products. It is yielded in espe- 

 cially large proportion by most of the proteins of seeds, 41.32 per 



FIG. 29. 





GLUTAMIC ACID. 



Reproduced from a micro-photograph made by Prof. E. T. Reichert, of the University 



of Pennsylvania. 



cent having been obtained very recently by Klein schmitt from the 

 hydrolysis of hordeln the prolamin of barley. This is the largest 



