soma
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sources of l-cysteine
I've read that l-cysteine can be extracted from bird feathers, microbial fermentation, and hog hair. Some sources say that human hair si sometimes
used, but the wikipedia article on it says that is false and that it's illegal in the EU.
I'm wondering why using human hair is illegal and if sheep's wool could be used?
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soma
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Update: an article in Mother Jones said that human hair has alot more cysteine than bird feathers and gave a source in India. Supposedly, "Muslims"
put a ban on cysteine derived from human hair.
I'm still looking to find out how much cysteine is in wool.
[Edited on 12-4-2017 by soma]
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UC235
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http://www.orgsyn.org/Content/pdfs/procedures/CV1P0194.pdf
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DraconicAcid
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I suspect that it's illegal to offer such cysteine for human consumption, because...ew, eating other people's hair?
Please remember: "Filtrate" is not a verb.
Write up your lab reports the way your instructor wants them, not the way your ex-instructor wants them.
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alking
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Why are you trying to extract l-cysteine? You can buy it at amazon for far cheaper than you can extract it.
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soma
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Thanks.
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soma
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Quote: Originally posted by alking  | | Why are you trying to extract l-cysteine? You can buy it at amazon for far cheaper than you can extract it. |
I am a conscientious (lacto/ovo) vegetarian. The "shearers" of human hair are going to make sure that their "donors" are not abused in the process.
Also, there is supposedly twice as much l-cysteine in human hair compared to bird feathers.
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soma
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According to the "Mother Jones" article, quite a few companies are already using cysteine derived from human hair, although some don't want to make it
public. http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/human-hair-ad...
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phlogiston
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From Wilson RH et al, J Biol Chem (1927) 543-553, The Cysteine Content of Hair and Other Epidermal Tissues:
http://www.jbc.org/content/73/2/543.full.pdf)
It lists numbers from several sources. I just copied the numbers, because given that you could not be bothered to look this up yourself (it was the
third hit in google for "cysteine content of hair") I assume your not going to care about the original references either):
Human hair:
6.5-13.92 %
11.5-14.53 %
9.1-9.9 %
16.5 %
13.2-17.4 %
Sheep Wool:
6.9 - 12.5 %
7.8 %
Goose Feathers (quills):
6.3 %
Dog Hair:
8.49 %
Tortoise Shell (Chelone imbricata):
5.19 %
So answer is yes, sheep wool will do.
Let us know when you develop a tasty recipe for wool.
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Tsjerk
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In the EU it is not allowed to use human products in things meant for consumption. Most L-cysteine comes from China, and although they say it is
coming from bird-feathers, there are strong suspicions by far not all actually is.
Imagine: A Chinese producer sees hundred thousands of tons of a perfect L-cysteine source (barber shops), going to waste. While if he would make
L-cysteine out of it, nobody would be able to tell if he did so from feathers or human hair... guess what happens.
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alking
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I'd make the l-cysteine from human hair and lie about it, if people are too dumb or scared that they need to be lied to in order to ironically see
reality then so be it.
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phlogiston
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Fortunately, the conditions for isolating cysteine from hair are such that it is quite unlikely that human pathogens (if even present in hair) make it
into the final product.
I've obtained small samples of human hair from a barber in the past for the purpose of removing keratin-recognising antibodies from mixture. Not
wanting to ruin my own perfect haircut, I used to go to a nearby barber, ask for a small sample of hair clippings (explaining the purpose). It was
never a problem, the customer did always consent, in fact they were excited, to contribute a bit of hair to science.
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NEMO-Chemistry
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Dont use 'CURLY' hair from a beauty parlour that offers....WAX services 
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