Protein Supplement Guide

The history of protein. When it was discovered, who it was discovered by, and what was thought to be it’s original attributes and purposes back then as well as today.

Proteins were first recognized as a distinct class of biological molecules by Antoine Fourcroy, among others. It was discovered in the 18th century and stood apart by it’s ability to coagulate or flocculate under heat or mixed with acid. Examples at the time of discovery included the albumen from egg whites, serum albumin, wheat gluten, and egg whites.

Gerhardus Johannes Mulder, a Dutch chemist, carried out the elemental analysis of proteins and discovered that nearly all the varying kinds of proteins had the same empirical formula. Mulder’s associate, Jone Jakob Berzelius proposed that these molecules be called “protein” in 1838.

The problem with early studies on protein was that there was a difficulty in purifying proteins in large quantities. It was a troubling task for biochemists. Because of this, early studies on protein focused on proteins that can be purified in large quantities like those of various toxins, blood, and egg white. When the 1950s came along, the Armour Hot Dog Company purified one million milligrams of pure boine pancreative ribonuclease A and made it available for study to scientists all over the world.