THE PROTEINS OF PLANTS

Abstract

The author, confining himself to the point of view of a protein chemist, emphasizes the problem of differentiating and purifying these substances. He gives a brief historical account from this point of view. He classifies plant proteins simply according to their origin: seed, leaf: chloroplast, cytoplasm, vacuole. He comments that "at present it is necessary to treat plant proteins in groups. The next phase of investigation may reveal how they can be treated as individuals, that is, as specific substances. Ultimately we may hope to learn something of the complexes or systems of inter-reacting substances the behavior of which we recognize as the life process." No work on the metabolism of plant proteins is discussed, though reviews are cited.