Saving Lives, Revolutionizing Food Products

A Baylor alumna tasked with investigating why a soft drink had thickened is today recognized for the discoveries that emanated from that inquiry. Her work went on to save lives and change industries – a goal of Baylor researchers still today.

Allene Jeanes earned her chemistry degree from Baylor in 1928, and she went on to serve four noteworthy decades as a chemist. Most of her career was spent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she researched polysaccharides — large molecules comprised of sugar molecule chains. One of those polysaccharides was dextran, which she and other researchers believed had not only food applications but also could be used to replace blood plasma. If they could find a way to apply dextran to those in need of blood plasma, they could slow bleeding and save lives. Unfortunately, dextran was rare in nature and near-impossible to mass-produce.

An unexpected breakthrough came when she investigated why a soft drink had become thick and gooey. She found that the drink had been contaminated by a strain of bacteria, which produced dextran. That discovery led to the ability to mass produce dextran, which then saw its first use in the Korean War as a blood plasma extender. Blood loss in far-flung fields became less lethal thanks to that discovery, as dextran would extend the lives of soldiers in desperate situations until they could receive treatment. For that discovery, Jeanes was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of Agriculture, the first woman to ever receive the honor, and was recognized by President John F. Kennedy.

Jeanes also is credited with the discovery of a method for mass-producing xanthan gum, a thickening agent used in foods (like gluten free products, ice cream, and condiments), cosmetics, healthcare products and the automotive industry. She passed away in 1995, but her inventions still benefit society 30 years later. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her discoveries. 

At Baylor today, researchers continue Jeanes’ spirit of discovery with a passion for protecting soldiers and injury victims from blood loss and oxygen deprivation. Environmental science professor Erica Bruce, Ph.D., is working to develop compounds that combat hemorrhaging and blood loss. For soldiers on the battlefield, the first hour after an injury is critical. Bruce’s pursuits would fight hypoxia — oxygen deprivation which can be exacerbated by blood loss — and enable more of the injured to get to care. 

As Bruce and her students continue the search for solutions, they have a model in Jeanes whose inspirational life changed the course of numerous lives and shaped the future of many industries.