Zn<sub>2</sub>Mg Alkaline Phosphatase in an Early Ptolemeic Mummy

Kaup, Yoka; Baumer, Ursula; Koller, Johann; Hedges, R. E. M.; Werner, H.; Hartmann, Hans-Jürgen; Etspüler, Hedwig; Weser, Ulrich

doi:10.1515/znc-1994-7-816

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…Chemical analyses were performed using the same methods for human and animal mummies (6,7) to ensure detection of the range of balm components detected in earlier studies, namely beeswax, animal fats and plant oils, plant resins, petroleum bitumen, and essential oils (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic chemistry of balms used in the preparation of pharaonic meat mummies

Clark

Ikram

Evershed

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The funeral preparations for ancient Egyptian dead were extensive. Tomb walls were often elaborately painted and inscribed with scenes and objects deemed desirable for the afterlife. Votive objects, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and importantly, food including bread, cereals, fruit, jars of wine, beer, oil, meat, and poultry were included in the burial goods. An intriguing feature of the meat and poultry produced for the deceased from the highest levels of Egyptian society was that they were mummified to ensure their preservation. However, little is known about the way they were prepared, such as whether balms were used, and if they were used, how they compared with those applied to human and animal mummies? We present herein the results of lipid biomarker and stable carbon isotope investigations of tissues, bandaging, and organic balms associated with a variety of meat mummies that reveal that treatments ranged from simple desiccation and wrapping in bandages to, in the case of the tomb of Yuya and Tjuia (18th Dynasty, 1386-1349 BC), a balm associated with a beef rib mummy containing a high abundance of Pistacia resin and, thus, more sophisticated than the balms found on many contemporaneous human mummies.food mummies | pharaohs | Egypt | triterpenoids | fatty acyl lipids F ood to sustain the deceased in the afterlife was perhaps the most important item in a burial and has been found in interments from the earliest periods (3300 BC) to the latest (fourth century AD). The burial of King Tutankhamun (died c. 1323 BC) comprised 48 carved wooden cases containing a variety of joints from cattle and poultry (1, 2). Virtually all of the food found in these tombs was preserved through dehydration, save for the meat, as untreated meat would not last more than a few hours in the Egyptian heat. A solution to preserving meat in the burials would have been to preserve it in the same manner as human mummies. Indeed, "meat" or "victual" mummies have been found in many high status tombs (3). Meat mummies are but one type of animal mummy produced by the Egyptians, the others including votives, pets to be left in the tomb with their owner, and sacred animals, such as the Apis bull (1, 4, 5).Hundreds of examples of meat mummies are known from ancient Egypt (see appendix II in ref. 1). Until recently, these had been neglected as objects of study and as a consequence are poorly understood. Recent investigations have established that for the most part victual mummies are joints of meat or poultry prepared as if for eating, which are wrapped, encoffined, and placed in the tomb (1,4,5). SEM has shown that salt and natron were used for desiccation (1, 5). The question that remains is whether organic balms were applied? The presence of dark residues is consistent with the appearance of balms applied to human and animal mummies (6-12). The Cairo Museum and British Museum graciously provided us with samples of tissues and balms from several meat mummies (Table 1), allowing us to assess their chemical compositions and make comparisons with...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic chemistry of balms used in the preparation of pharaonic meat mummies

Clark

Ikram

Evershed

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Clavicle fragments of IDU, an Egyptian mummy of the Old Kingdom (2150 f 50 BC) were sandblasted using chromatographically pure aluminium oxide under sterile conditions to minimise contamination with contemporary alkaline phosphatase. 0.5 g fragments were finely ground in a porcelain mortar and suspended in 5 ml Tris buffer (pH 7.4) containing three protease inhibitors and detergent under slight agitation for 16 h as reported previously [5]. The first separation was performed by gel chromatography on a HiLoad 16/60 Superdex 200 prep grade column equilibrated with elution buffer (20 mM Tris acetate (pH 7.4), 2 mM magnesium acetate and 0.1% (v/v) Triton X-100).…”

Section: Preparation Of Bone Znmg Alkaline Phosphatasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous study the successful isolation of a 2300 years aged bone alkaline phosphatase being essentially identical to the contemporary enzyme was reported [5]. The time dependency on the intactness of ancient bone alkaline phosphatase was examined using portions of a clavicle taken from an Egyptian mummy called IDU (21.50 ?…”

Section: Preparation Of Ancient Bone Alkaline Phosphatasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…No anaerobic or aerobic bacteria as well as fungi could be detected in comprehensive microbial assays employing the earlier described protocol [5] 1 .5 g finely ground pelvis fragments were suspended in Tris buffer containing protease inhibitors and detergent under slight agitation for 18 h at -"C. During all preparation steps alkaline phosphatase activity and protein concentration [S] were assayed. The extract was gel filtrated on a Superdex .…”

Section: Preparation Of Ancient Bone Alkaline Phosphatasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…An active core protein of Cu,Zn, superoxide dismutase was obtained from air dried human brain (1200 BC) [3] and enzymic active alkaline phosphatase, a di-zinc magnesium enzyme (Fig. l), was successfully isolated from bone samples of a ptolemeic mummy which was thoroughly pre-treated with balm components [5]. The beneficial aspect for the conservation of the alkaline phosphatase was assigned to the balm components as well as to the hydroxyl apatite bone mineral which was thought to serve as a most effective 'ion exchange matrix' for the binding of structurally intact and catalytically active proteins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enzymatic and immunological activity of 4000 years aged bone alkaline phosphatase

1995

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Structurally intact and functionally active human bone alkaline pbosphatase was isolated from clavicle fragments of IDU, an Egyptian mummy of the Old Kingdom (2150 + 50 BC). Both anion exchange and affinity chromatographies were employed to optimise the preparation of the ancient enzyme resulting in a specific activity of 180 * 30 mU/mg. The intactness of the bone enzyme fractions of the wheat-germ lectin affinity chromatography was successfully demonstrated in an ELISA using the monoclonal antibody BAP A. Fortunately, the mummified bone was not contaminated by fungi or bacteria.

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