ALBUMINS are water-soluble proteins. They enter into the composition of all the tissues of the body. Albumins are generally divided according to their source of origin, as muscle-albumin, milk-albumin, blood- or serum-albumin, egg-albumin, vegetable-albumin, etc. These differ both in chemical reactions and also physiologically. Serum albumin occurs in blood plasma where it is important in maintaining plasma volume.
When taken into the stomach they are all converted into a soluble form by the process of digestion, and are then absorbed into the blood, whence they go to build up the tissues. Albumin is synthesized in the liver and in chronic liver disease this process is seriously affected.
