Biochemistry of the Amino Acids

IN this monograph the authors have given a detailed account of the chemistry and physiology of the amino-acids, their preparation, determination and properties, and the part they play in metabolism and nutrition. They have examined the available evidence very critically, more especially in the physiological chapters, so that the work forms a very useful review of our present knowledge. The fact that the monograph is of the size of many textbooks of physiology indicates the extent of the literature dealt with. The chemical chapters account for about one-third of the volume: the remaining two-thirds give an up-to-date account of the digestion of the proteins and the absorption of their constituent amino-acids, the catabolism of these compounds and their relationships with carbohydrate and fat metabolism, the breakdown of the individual amino-acids being considered in detail. Finally, there are chapters on their specific dynamic action, on the catabolism of tissue protein, and on the nutritive values of proteins and the protein values of foods in nutrition. The book will be of great use as a work of reference by research workers, and also to all advanced students of biochemistry and physiology.The Biochemistry of the Amino Acids.Prof.H. H.MitchellT. S.HamiltonBy. (American Chemical Society Monograph Series, No. 48.) Pp. 619. (New York: The Chemical Catalog Co., Inc., 1929.) 9.50 dollars.