Four species of edible brown marine algae were fractionated by trichloroacetic acid precipitation and subsequent chromatography; and the iodine content of each fraction was determined. Quantitative determination of iodide form iodine was made possible by elimination of interfereing substances in cell extract using a weakly basic anion exchange resin column without drastic procedure.
Although the iodine content of each algae was of much diversity owing to species, the iodide form iodine varied between 83_??_85% of total iodine independent on total iodine content. The rest of the iodine was mostly found in trichloroacetic acid precipitate probably in protein bound form; and each algae contained little trichloroacetic acid soluble non iodide form of iodine, probably a low molecular organic form iodine

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Significant correlations among amylograph characteristics or other relating properties of rice starch and flour were recognized by orderly rearrangement of previously obtained data. Linear regression of peak viscosity on breakdown was available for detecting a deteriorative damage of rice starch and grain. Alpha-amylase in white rice did not have close relation with peak viscosity of the flour. The ratio of breakdown to consistency and the corrected peak viscosity calculating the coincidence of the slurry concentration were significantly correlated with the starch iodine blue value and rigidity of the cold paste body respectively.

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A study was made of such characteristics as infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectra, alkaline nitrobenzene oxidation, elementary composition and constituent groups of tobacco milled wood lignin (Japanese flue-cured and Matsukawa M. W. L.).
Methoxyl contents of mid-rib and stalk M. W. L. were 12.3_??_13.8% and 16.6_??_17.0% respectively. Infrared absorption spectra showed that the relation of the absorption intensities between at 1270cm^-1 and at 1220cm^-1 of stalk M. W. L. was 1270cm^-1<1220cm^-1 but, on the contrary, in the case of mid-rib M. W. L., the relation of the intensities was 1270cm^-1>1220cm^-1. Alkaline nitrobenzene oxidation indicated that the nuclear structures of tobacco M. W. L. were mainly composed of p-hydroxyphenyl and guaiacyl for mid-rib, and the former two and syringyl for stalk.

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It has been found that ammonium sulfate is effective not only in stabilizing, but also in stimulating the activity of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (E. C. 6. 3. 4. 3) purified approximately 500-fold from pea seedlings. Kinetic studies have indicated that the stimulation by ammonium sulfate is due to the enhancement of the binding of the substrate, formate, with the enzyme. The binding of the another substrate, FAH₄, with the enzyme was not affected by the addition of ammonium sulfate. The enzyme activity was inhibited by various sulfhydryl reagents, and the inhibition by PCMB was overcome by the addition of L-cysteine. The inhibition by PCMB was competitive with FAH₄, and the K_i value for PCMB was 0.8×10^-6M.

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Arabanase was purified by various procedures of gel filtrations and column chromatographics from the submerged culture filtrate of Aspergillus niger grown on the medium containing beet-araban as a carbon source, and the properties of the enzyme was examined. The purified enzyme was homogeneous protein in ultracentrifugal analysis, the optimum pH for enzymatic action was 4.0. The enzyme was thermostable at pH 6.0, namely, even after heating at 98°C for 10 minutes, 20.8 per cent of the initial activity still remained. The enzyme hydrolyzed beet-araban with producing L-arabinose.

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Nineteen flavones were newly found in green tea infusion. Four pigments were isolated, and one of them was identified as vitexin (C-glycosyl flavone). As the remained pigments were obtained only in small quantities, their properties were studied spectrophotometrically. Similarity of their UV spectra and color reactions suggested that all of them have the same skeleton as 5, 7, 4'-trihydroxyfiavone (apigenin). The major one has high water solubility and deep greenish yellow color in aqueous solution, so that it may be the important constituents related to the color of green tea infusion.

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A bacterium, (E17), has been found to form new amino acid, when grown in well aerated medium containing ethanol, n-propanol or n-butanol as a sole source of carbon. The new compounds were isolated and purified and their structures were investigated by elementary analyses, infrared spectra, NMR analyses, mass spectra and determination of their degradation products. The amino acids formed from ethanol, n-propanol and n-butanol have now been shown to be O-ethyl-L-homoserine, O-propyl-L-homoserine and O-butyl-L-homoserine, respectively.

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Some of the characteristics of the four phages, P 465 (group I), P 468 II (group II), Ap 85 III (group III) and P 4 (group IV), of Brevibacterium lactofermeutum, i.e., stability in salt solution, thermal and pH stabilities, inactivation by ultraviolet irradiation, stability on air-drying, and lytic characteristics of infected cells, are descrided. We have observed differences in these physico-chemical characteristics among these four phages selected from the respective serological groups. An addition of protein such as casein to diluent at a 0.01_??_1% concentration increased remarkably the stabilities on shaking of these phages except Ap 85 III. There were great differences in stabilities on air-drying among the four phages. Phage P 61 (gropu I) which was isolated from the first abnormal fermentation broth showed the lowest stability in the dry state, while phages, P 468 II and Ap 85 III, were very stable and were not inactivated by the relative humidity of 10% at 30°C, for the period of five months. In general, Ap-series phages isolated from air-borne particles at fermentation factory can be distinguished from the other P-series phages which were isolated from abnormal fermentation broth, by their considerably high resistance to drying.

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The threonine content in blood and urine increased and threonine decomposition ability in liver decreased by feeding lower level of lysine, whereas threonine content in blood and urine decreased and the ability of liver increased gradually with increasing lysine content in diet. These phenomena were owing to the increase of threonine dehydratase activity of liver, which was measured from produced α-ketobutyric acid amount, by excess administration of lysine. The phenomena that threonine content in urine decreased and threonine decomposition ability of liver increased with increasing threonine content in diet when adequate amount of lysine was fed, were also ascribed to the increase of the dehydratase activity.
One m mole of threonine was incubated with liver homogenate in presence of PALP^*** at pH 8.2 for 20 and 30min and α-ketobutyric acid produced was introduced to its 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazone, which was chromatographed on silica-gel thin-layer plate and determined spectrophotometrically at 395mμ under N, N-dimethylformamide.
Other enzyme systems relating to threonine catabolism were also investigated, including threonine aldolase, threonine dehydrogenase and ornithine transaminase, showing no significant changes in activities by excess administration of lysine and/or threonine.

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Various keto acids react sensitively with 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolone hydrazone to form the azine derivatives, which give the characteristic ultraviolet absorption spectra. The effect of pH, temperature, reaction period, buffer and the concentration of the reagent on the reaction and the spectra were investigated. Optimal conditions for the microdeter-mination of keto acids were established. Microamounts of keto acids (0.02_??_0.3 or 0.4 μmole) were determined rapidly by this simple method with satisfactory results. Amino acids, fatty acids and most inorganic salts did not interfere with the determination of keto acids.

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Effects of helminthosporol and helminthosporic acid (H-acid) on nicotine biosynthesis in Nicotiana were examined. By the addition of these compounds into nutrient solution, nicotine formation in decapitated and intact plants of Nicotiana tabacum was decreased. In sterile culture of excised roots of Nicotiana rustica, H-acid reduced the yield of nicotine exerting no effect on growth rate. Incorporation of L-glutamic acid-U-¹⁴C and DL-ornithine-2-¹⁴C into nicotine in the roots was decreased by the addition of H-acid, and that of nicotinic acid-³H(G) was not influenced. Since H-acid did not enhance destruction of nicotine-³H exogenously added, it is probable that the decrease of nicotine yield by the acid in the root culture is due to reduction in the production rate of the alkaloid.

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The volatile carbonyl compounds generated in casein solution heated at 140°C for 60 minutes were isolated as 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazone derivatives. The mixture of derivatives were fractionated into 8 derivatives by column chromatography and preparative thin layer chromatography. Compounds identified were ethanal, propanal, 2-methylpropanal, 3-methylbutanal and 2-methylbutanal. Evidence was also presented for the occurrence of methanal, acetone and crotonal.
These compounds seemed to have some relation with heat induced flavor compounds in dairy products.

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The possibility that selective inhibition of phage by antibiotic may be achieved by using bacterial mutant resistant to the antibiotic was investigated in the system of HM-phages of Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum, a butanol-producing bacterium.
Consequently, it was found that oxytetracycline, using the antibiotic-resistant mutant as host, inhibited selectively the growth of HM-phages. The bacterial mutant termed type A (one-step mutant resistant to 30μg/ml of oxytetracycline) did not permit the growth of HM-phages (HM 2 and HM 3) in the presence of the antibiotic (ca. 10μg/ml), though it permitted the growth of the phages in the absence of the antibiotic.
An analysis of the mode of action of oxytetracycline in HM 2-phage system revealed the following. (i) The antibiotic had a slight phagicidal action. (ii) It did not prevent the phage adsorption. (iii) It inhibited the protein synthesis in phage-infected cells. (iv) It inhibited the lysis of infected cells. Active phages were, however, not detected when the lysis-inhibited cells were artificially lysed.
Another type of bacterial mutant was also encountered. In this mutant termed type B the development of resistance to oxytetracycline (30μg/ml) was associated with a simultaneous loss of sensitivity to particular phages (HM 2 group).

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A glycoside “Sasanquin” (=eugenol primeveroside), isolated by us from leaves of Camellia sasanqua, was synthesized. The glucoside linkage between eugenol and primeverose has been now confirmed as β-form.

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New synthetic methods for the preparation of 6-deoxy-1, 2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-xylo-hexofuranos-5-ulse (Vla) were described.

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Methyl2, 3, 4-tri-O-benzoyl-6-deoxy-a-D-arabino-hex-5-enopyranoside (IIIa) was synthesized starting from methyl α-D-altroside (IIa). This enose derivative (IIIa) was hydrolyzed to methyl 6-deoxy-α-D-arabino-hex-5-enopyranoside (IIIb), and then converted with acid into 6-deoxy-D-arabino-hexofuranos-5-ulose (I), the sugar component of antibiotic hygromycin A.

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When N-n-butyl-D-xylosylamine was heated with acetic acid in methanol at 55_??_70°C, it decomposed to N-n-butylpyrrole-2-aldehyde, ^** through 3-deoxy-D-pentosulose as an intermediate. D-Xylose and methylamine in neutralized aqueous solution at 65_??_100°C also formed N-methylpyrrole-2-aldehyde. N-n-Butyl-L-rhamnosylamine, in a mixture of methanol and acetic acid, formed the corresponding pyrrolealdehyde, 1-n-butyl-5-methylpyrrole-2-aldehyde, at the almost same rate as did N-xyloside. On the contrary, N-n-butyl-D-glucosyl-amine, under the same condition, did not form any detectable amount of the corresponding pyrrolealdehyde, but formed complicated products. A formation mechanism of the pyrrolealdehydes from 3-deoxyosulose and amine was proposed.

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Leaf oil samples of four different citrus species were prepared from young leaves and the detailed composition of each leaf oil was investigated using gas chromatography, thinlayer chromatography and infrared spectrometry. The following components were identified: α-pinene, α-thujene, β-pinene, limonene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene, p-α-dimethylstyrene, β-humulene, β-selinene, trans-2-hexen-l-al, cis-3-hexen-l-ol, trans-2-hexen-l-ol, linaloolterpinen-4-ol and α-terpineol. In addition, camphene, sabinene, β-myrcene, α-terpinene, β-elemene, caryophyllene, neral, geranial, nerol and geraniol were tentatively identified. Most of the components were found to be contained in common in the leaf oils of four different citrus species, but the relative contents of some of the components such as limonene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene, linalool, neral and geranial were distinctly different from species to species. Thus, gas chromatographic analyses of leaf oils seemed to be useful for the identification of citrus species.

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