Amino-Acids of Certain Algæ

Abstract

Pearsall and Fogg¹ have discussed the possibility of using algæ, especially Chlorella, as a source of food. Though cultures having a very high protein content have been produced under suitable conditions of growth, little information is available regarding the amino-acid composition of such algal proteins. Eny², using the technique of paper chromatography, reported that seven of the ‘essential’ amino-acids were absent from the proteins of Chlorella. These results are open to criticism on two grounds. The protein subjected to acid hydrolysis was apparently limited to that contained in an alcoholic extract of the Chlorella. This could only have been a small and probably unrepresentative fraction of the total protein. The anomaly that glutamine and asparagine were present after acid hydrolysis was also reported. A more detailed study of the amino-acids present in such algal proteins therefore seemed desirable as the first step of a proposed quantitative investigation.