AlbiTmen or Albumin

JX. alb us, white.] A nutritive substance found in animals; also a sup¬ ply of nourishing matter within the integuments of the seed in many plants, external to the em¬ bryo or germ in some, and within it in others. It is the floury part in wheat and other grains, and is a very important part of food. Albumen exists in many of the solids and fluids of the ani¬ mal body, also in many plants. It occurs in its purest form in the white of an egg, and in the serous or liquid portion of the blood. It is a yel¬ lowish, transparent, gum-like substance, soluble in cold water. One of the most characteristic properties of a solution of albumen is its power of coagulation. If a solution be heated to about 70°, it becomes solid and opaque, and in this state it is insoluble in water, but di olves in dilute alkalies.