Allene Jeanes
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Allene Rosalind Jeanes (July 19, 1906 – December 11, 1995) was an American chemist whose pioneering work significantly impacted carbohydrate chemistry. Born in 1906 in Texas, Jeanes' notable contributions include the development of Dextran, a lifesaving blood plasma substitute used in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and
Xanthan gum Xanthan gum () is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sugars by fermentat ...
, a polysaccharide commonly used in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Jeanes' innovations have had a lasting influence on medical treatments and everyday consumer products, highlighting her role as a key figure in applied carbohydrate science. Her achievements earned her numerous accolades, including being the first woman to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.


Early life and education

Jeanes was born July 19, 1906, in
Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...
, to Viola (Herring) and Largus Elonzo ("Lonnie") Jeanes, a
switchman A switchman (North America) also known as pointsman (British Isles) or yardman (Commonwealth) is a rail transport worker whose original job was to operate various railway switches or points on a railroad. It also refers to a person who assist ...
and later a
yardmaster The yardmaster is a railroad employee in charge of a rail yard. Duties involve managing and coordinating all activities in combining rolling stock into trains, breaking down trains into individual railroad cars, and switching trains from track to ...
for the
Cotton Belt Route The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...
of the
St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...
. Allene graduated with honors from Waco High School in 1924. In 1928, she received a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
and graduated summa cum laude; in 1929, Jeanes obtained a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in organic chemistry from the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. From 1930 to 1935, Jeanes was employed as the head science teacher at
Athens College Athens College (; formally Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF), Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εκπαιδευτικό Ίδρυμα) is a co-educational private preparatory school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, par ...
in
Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 25,406. Hist ...
. From 1936 to 1937, she held a position as
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
instructor at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
. She received her PhD in organic chemistry from
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
in 1938, after working with
Roger Adams Roger Adams (January 2, 1889 – July 6, 1971) was an American organic chemist who developed the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and helped determine the composition of natural substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids. He isolat ...
.


Career

In 1938, Dr. Jeanes decided to accept a position at the National Institutes of Health in Washington D.C. And, from 1938 to 1940, Jeanes served as a corn industries research foundation fellow for the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
(NIH) with Claude Hudson and worked at the
National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sc ...
with Horace S. Isbell.In 1941 she joined Roy L. Whistler at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...
’s
Northern Regional Research Lab Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
(NRRL) in
Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...
, as a chemical researcher. She worked there until 1976. Jeanes is credited with "a prominent role in making NRRL a world-class center for applied carbohydrate science". Jeanes' area of research was natural
polysaccharides Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...
, including
starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...
(found in wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes),
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...
(found in cotton, wood, and paper), and
dextran Dextran is a complex branched glucan (polysaccharide derived from the condensation of glucose), originally derived from wine. IUPAC defines dextrans as "Branched poly-α-d-glucosides of microbial origin having glycosidic bonds predominantly C-1 ...
. Jeanes was able to isolate dextran-producing
bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
from samples of bacteria-contaminated
root beer Root beer is a North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla; also used to make a soft drink called sarsaparilla) as the ...
supplied by a local Peoria company. This discovery was the basis for development of a mass production process for dextran, and its use in a dextran-based blood plasma extender. This plasma substitute was used by medical personal in the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was believed that using this sort of substance would keep someone who had lost a great deal of blood alive longer. So, the United States began using dextran to treat injured soldiers. As a result of her work, Jeanes was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Service Award given by the Department of Agriculture, in 1953. She was also awarded the
Garvan Medal Garvan may refer to: People * Francis Patrick Garvan (1875–1937), American lawyer, president of the Chemical Foundation * Frank Garvan (born 1955), Australian mathematician * Genevieve Garvan Brady (1880–1938), American philanthropist and Papa ...
in 1956. Jeanes was also part of the team that developed
xanthan gum Xanthan gum () is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sugars by fermentat ...
. Xanthan gum, derived from Xanthomonas campestris bacteria, completely revolutionized food processing due to its unique thickening and stabilizing properties. It's extensively used in products such as salad dressings, sauces, and baked goods to maintain texture and consistency. In the cosmetics industry, xanthan gum improves the texture of creams and lotions, making them more appealing to consumers. In medicine, xanthan gum plays a role in creating more appetizing and stable pharmaceutical products. It's also essential in gluten-free baking, providing a substitute that mimics the texture and properties of gluten, greatly benefiting those with gluten intolerances or celiac disease. Moreover, xanthan gum has applications beyond these industries. It is used in the oil and gas sector for drilling operations, demonstrating the versatility of Jeanes' innovation. The environmental friendliness of xanthan gum, as it is a biodegradable and non-toxic substance, aligns perfectly with current sustainable and environmentally friendly trends, making it a preferred ingredient in various sectors. Overall, Jeanes' work in this development has had a far-reaching impact, contributing significantly to advancements in food science, cosmetics, medicine, and even energy, thereby enhancing various aspects of everyday life. Her innovation and contributions are still in use today in many ways. In her last published paper, "Immunological and Related Interactions with Dextrans Reviewed in Terms of Improved Structural Information," which was published in 1986, Jeanes shows her dedication to her work. Over the course of her entire career, Allene Jeanes was awarded ten patents and produced sixty publications. These were all related to her work and discoveries. She was ultimately honored with a plethora of awards. She was a member of the
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
,
Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...
, and
Iota Sigma Pi Iota Sigma Pi () is a national honor society in the United States. It was established in 1900 and specializes in the promotion of women in the sciences, especially chemistry. It also focuses on personal and professional growth for women in these f ...
.


Later life

Jeanes died on December 11, 1995 in Urbana, Illinois. She was 89 years old.


Awards

* 1953 – Distinguished Service Award from the
USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...
. * 1956 –
Garvan Medal Garvan may refer to: People * Francis Patrick Garvan (1875–1937), American lawyer, president of the Chemical Foundation * Frank Garvan (born 1955), Australian mathematician * Genevieve Garvan Brady (1880–1938), American philanthropist and Papa ...
from the
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
. * 1962 –
Federal Woman's Award The Federal Woman's Award, also known as the Federal Women's Award, was given by the United States Civil Service Commission from 1961 until 1976. The Federal Woman's Award was established by Barbara Bates Gunderson in 1960, while she was serving on ...
from the
U.S. Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States. It was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of ...
. * 1968 – Superior Service Award to the Xanthan gum team, from the United States Department of AgricultureGregory L. Côté, Victoria L. Finkenstadt:
A History of Carbohydrate Research at the USDA Laboratory in Peoria, Illinois
'. In: ''Bulletin for the History of Chemistry.'' Vol. 33, Nr. 2, 2008, S. 103–111.
Tiffany K. Wayne: ''American Women of Science Since 1900 (Vol.1: Essays A-H).'' ABC-Clio, 2011, S. 549 f. * 1999 – posthumously inducted into the
Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...
Science Hall of Fame for her works in
microbiological Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virol ...
research that created life-saving
polymers A polymer () is a substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, b ...
made from
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
products. *2017 – posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.


References


Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeanes, Allene R. 20th-century American chemists American women chemists 1906 births 1995 deaths University of California, Berkeley alumni Baylor University alumni University of Illinois faculty Recipients of the Garvan–Olin Medal 20th-century American women scientists American women academics