Proteins are first described by the Dutch…
1838 CE
Mulder has carried out elemental analysis of common proteins and found that nearly all proteins had the same empirical formula.
He has come to the erroneous conclusion that they might be composed of a single type of (very large) molecule.
The term "protein" to describe these molecules was proposed by Mulder's associate Berzelius; protein is derived from the Greek word πρώτειος (proteios), meaning "primary", "in the lead", or "standing in front", + -in.
Proteins had been recognized as a distinct class of biological molecules in the eighteenth century by Antoine Fourcroy and others, distinguished by the molecules' ability to coagulate or flocculate under treatments with heat or acid.
Noted examples at the time included albumin from egg whites, blood serum albumin, fibrin, and wheat gluten.
