Spontaneous degradation of hemoglobin and egg albumin

Hemolysates of red cells of the horse, after removal of stroma and prolonged dialysis, released free amino acids on standing. A similar release of amino acids was not found when a solution of purified hemoglobin A was allowed to age, but a small number of peptides were found. Crude and purified egg albumin, when allowed to stand in solution, released free amino acids in a manner similar to that of the hemolysate of red cells. Quantitative data on the release of free amino acids are reported in this communication. The variety and distribution of the amino acids make it unlikely that this hydrolytic process is solely the result of contamination by proteolytic enzymes. The proposal is made that this property results from an intrinsic enzyme-like activity associated with the sulfhydryl groups of these proteins.