The supposed Alcoholic Enzyme in Yeast. 
BY 
J. REYNOLDS GREEN, Sc.D., F.R.S., 
Professor of Botany to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. 
ARLY in the present year a paper was published by 
JL-v Dr. E. Buchner ( 1 ), in which he stated that he had 
succeeded in extracting from Yeast a liquid possessing the 
power of setting up the alcoholic fermentation in solution 
of cane-sugar. His method was the following : — One kilo- 
gram of Yeast was dried by pressure until it formed a friable 
powder. When so dried it was mixed with an equal weight 
of fine quartz sand and with 250 grams of a fine infusorial 
earth (Kieselguhr), and the whole carefully ground in a mortar. 
Water was added to the fine powder, now become pasty owing 
to the breaking up of the Yeast- cells, 100 cc. being used to the 
kilogram of Yeast. The mixture was then wrapped in a cloth 
and gradually submitted to strong pressure in a hydraulic 
press, the pressure being worked up to 400-500 atmospheres 
to the square inch. The resulting liquid measured about 300 cc. 
The cake, when removed from the press, was ground up 
again, and the powder extracted with a further 100 cc. of 
water. This was again subjected to the action of the press, 
and a further 1 50 cc. of liquid was obtained. Each kilogram 
of Yeast thus furnished about 450 cc. of expressed liquid, of 
[Annals of Botany, Vol. XI. No. XLIV. December, 1897.] 
Pp 
