Protein Analysis, Kjedahl Method

The Kjeldahl method was developed in 1883 by a brewer called Johann Kjeldahl. A food is digested with a strong acid so that it releases nitrogen which can be determined by a suitable titration technique. The amount of protein present is then calculated from the nitrogen concentration of the food. The same basic approach is still used today, although a number of improvements have been made to speed up the process and to obtain more accurate measurements. It is usually considered to be the standard method of determining protein concentration. Because the Kjeldahl method does not measure the protein content directly a conversion factor (F) is needed to convert the measured nitrogen concentration to a protein concentration. A conversion factor of 6.25 (equivalent to 0.16 g nitrogen per gram of protein) is used for many applications, however, this is only an average value, and each protein has a different conversion factor depending on its amino-acid composition. The Kjeldahl method can conveniently be divided into three steps: digestion, neutralization and titration.

Silybum marianum and liver disorder

Silybum marianum, a plant of the Asteraceae family. Originally a native of Southern Europe through to Asia, it is now found throughout the world.

Its potent extract is used in medicine under the name silymarin. Milk thistle extract comes from the milk thistle herb which is a spiny leaved plant with pink flowers. It is quiet common & has been used for thousands of years to cleanse the liver, most notably it has been used to relieve congestion of the liver, spleen, and kidneys.

STRUCTURE AND CATALYSIS

The science of biochemistry can be dated to Eduard Buchner’s pioneering discovery. His finding opened a world of chemistry that has inspired researchers for well over a century. Biochemistry is nothing less than the chemistry of life, and, yes, life can be investigated, analyzed, and understood. To begin, every student of biochemistry needs both a language and some fundamentals; these are provided in Part I.