Bovine Serum Albumin: BSA and Its Uses in Medicine, Research and Diet
Thanks to the fact that it’s a natural byproduct of the cattle industry, bovine serum albumin is cheap and plentiful. In fact, BSA is ideal for medical research, vaccine proteins and even as a food additive. Essentially, albumin is a plasma protein used to grow cells. It can also effectively test the protein quantities of cells, and can be added to a variety of food products to increase protein and nutrition.
BSA is a common agent used in restriction digest to stabilize enzymes during the digestion of DNA for study. The beauty of albumin is that it does not affect other enzymes that don’t use it to maintain stabilization. This makes bovine serum albumin essential for determining the amount of proteins present with great accuracy. By comparing an unknown amount of protein to a known amount of BSA, you can accurately measure the protein level in any given cell.
BSA is highly stable. While scientists know what bovine serum albumin does, they are pretty clueless as to how. Albumin clearly affects lipid binding properties, but the exact nature of why bovine serum albumin works remains a mystery.
Still, when the research shows that BSA is highly effective at reducing the probability of disease, scientists pay attention, even if they don’t yet fully understand the scientific nature behind it. It’s advantages in treating disease make bovine serum albumin a common ingredient in vaccines and other medicines.
BSA is also widely used in cell regeneration. You can readily use albumin to regenerate plants from cultured guard cells. Bovine serum albumin greatly enhances cell production with a healthy dose of protein. Pump BSA into a cell, and it grows faster and heals quickly.
You’ll also find bovine serum albumin a common supplement in dietary products because it is so inexpensive. BSA can be quite common in meat ingredients as well as dairy products. Albumin can be turned into whey that is then cooked into your pastry, chocolate brownie or dipping sauce. Sound gross? You’ve probably happily eaten it and never known it. BSA is a cheap form of protein you wouldn’t notice in most common household food products.
August 25 2010 12:28 pm | Health