PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON 
CEREALS. IV. ON THE PRESENCE OF AMINO ACIDS 
AND POLYPEPTIDES IN THE UNGERMINATED RYE 
KERNEL 1 
By S. L. Jodidi, Associate Biochemist, and J. G. Wangles, Junior Biochemist, 
Office of Plant Physiological Investigations, with the cooperation of the Office 
of Cereal Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department 
of Agriculture 
INTRODUCTION 
In continuing the work reported in 
previous papers on wheat (Triticum 
vulgare) (10 ), 2 oats (Avena saliva) (11), 
and corn (Zea mais) (12), it was found, 
further that the ungerminated kernel 
of rye (Secale cereale) also contains 
polypeptides and amino acids. A 
careful perusal of the literature reveals 
no report of the presence of these 
compounds in the ungerminated rye 
kernel. 
Einhof (3) was the first to report the 
presence in rye seed of albumin and of a 
protein soluble in alcohol. The occur¬ 
rence of an alcohol-soluble protein was 
also reported by Heldt (5), who gave a 
complete analysis of it. According to 
Von Bibra (1), the albumin, “casein,” 
and the alcohol-soluble protein in the 
rye kernel are identical with those 
in the wheat kernel, while according to 
Ritthausen (17) the rye kernel con¬ 
tains three proteins, namely, albumin, 
an alcohol-soluble protein (mucedin), 
and one soluble in dilute potassium 
hydroxide (gluten-casein). 
From the work of Osborne (13), we 
now know definitely that the rye kernel 
contains five proteins, in the following 
proportions: 
Per cent 
Albumin (leucosin)_0.43 
Globulin (edestin) and proteose... 1.76 
Gliadin...4.00 
Total. 
According to this investigator (14, 
IS, p. 79, and 16), wheat and rye yield 
similar quantities of albumins and 
globulins, which seem to be identical, 
and also the same quantity of gliadin. 
Of the nonproteins, Schulze (18) re¬ 
ports that the seed of rye contains on 
the average 0.195 per cent, calculated 
on the basis of the oven-dried seed, or 
9.4 per cent, calculated on its total 
nitrogen. Schulze concludes from his 
observations that these figures are more 
or less fluctuating, depending on the 
state of ripeness of the seed, the per¬ 
centage of nonproteins being ordinarily 
higher in unripe Seed. According to 
Schulze (19), there occurs in the seed of 
rye a nitrogenous phosphatide which 
contains about 2 per cent of phos¬ 
phorus, while according to Czapek 
(2, p. 157), the seed contains 0.57 per 
cent of lecithin when calculated to its 
oven-dried state. As mentioned above, 
the presence of polypeptides and amino 
acids in the ungerminated rye kernel is 
shown for the first time in this paper, 
so far as the writers are aware. 
EXPERIMENTAL DATA 
For this work North Dakota No. 959, 
Reg. Rosen, and Von Rixmker varieties 
of rye were used. The samples were 
first dried in an electric oven at about 
50° C. for one to two days, then ground 
in a buhr mill, and passed through a 
60-mesh sieve. 
METHODS USED 
The total and the protein nitrogen 
were determined according to Kjel- 
dahl’s and Stutzer’s methods, respec¬ 
tively. The amino and the peptide ni¬ 
trogen were estimated by the formol- 
titration method (6, 20) as used by the 
senior author and described in previous 
publications (7, 8,9,10,11,12). Some 
details of these and other methods will 
be described subsequently. General 
information concerning the chemical 
composition of the three varieties of 
rye will be found in Table I. 
In Table I it will be noticed that the 
percentage of total nitrogen is highest 
in North Dakota No. 959, lowest in 
Reg. Rosen, while the figure for Von 
Rumker is between the two. The same 
relationship holds good for the non- 
1 Received for publication Aug. 6,1924; issued July, 1925. 
2 Reference is made by number (italic) to “Literature cited,” p. 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Washington, D. C. 
52205—251—7 
V 0 1. XXX, No. 10 
May 15, 1925 
Key No. G-49J 
