Allene Jeanes

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, 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, to Viola (Herring) and Largus Elonzo ("Lonnie") Jeanes, a switchman and later a yardmaster for the Cotton Belt Route of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway. Allene graduated with honors from Waco High School in 1924. In 1928, she received a bachelor's degree from Baylor University and graduated summa cum laude; in 1929, Jeanes obtained a master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

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 (NIH) with Claude Hudson and worked at the National Bureau of Standards with Horace S. Isbell. Jeanes is credited with "a prominent role in making NRRL a world-class center for applied carbohydrate science". 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 in 1956.

Jeanes was also part of the team that developed xanthan gum. 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.

Later life Jeanes died on December 11, 1995 in Urbana, Illinois. She was 89 years old. 1999 – posthumously inducted into the Agricultural Research Service Science Hall of Fame for her works in microbiological research that created life-saving polymers made from agricultural products. 2017 – posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.