STUDIES ON THE EXTRACTION OF NITROGENOUS AND PHOSPHORUS-CONTAINING MATERIALS FROM THE SEEDS OF KIDNEY BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS).

1. The conditions of extracting nitrogenous, phosphorus-containing and glucosamine-containing components of the seeds of kidney bean have been studied. 2. The dispersing of proteins was incomplete below pH 7, and the exact amount of protein extracted depended on the pH and the ionic strength of the solvent. 3. The extraction of proteins was practically complete in the range pH 7-9, but the relative amounts of the individual proteins obtained still depended on the pH of the extracting media, indicating a pH-dependent association-dissociation reaction between the protein molecules present. 4. The extraction of phosphorus-containing material showed an optimum at pH 6-7, and only a part of this was removed on dialysis. The precipitates obtained with trichloroacetic acid, on the other hand, retained very little phosphorus-containing material. 5. The significance of these findings is discussed.