Phytolacca; Emil Fischer

PHYTOLACCA, American grape, kermes, pokeweed, imerituli separovi (Georgian), Phytolacca americana L., s. Phytolacca decandra L., a perennial herbaceous plant (family Phytolaccaceae), up to 3 m in height, with a thick, multi-headed root. The stem is smooth, branched, with entire, large, pointed, smooth leaves of an ovate or lanceolate shape, with short petioles. The root is primarily harvested. The color of the root is brownish-gray on the outside, and pale yellowish on the inside. There is no odor. The taste is initially sweetish, then acrid. The constituent parts of the plant are insufficiently studied; the poisonous alkaloid phytolaccin and a saponin glycoside have been found. The fruits contain coloring and tanning substances. Studies of the root from the Batumi harvest in Transcaucasia showed: moisture 8.78%, extract of substances soluble in water 13%, the same in alcohol 17.2%, ash 10.79%. According to the All-Union Standard (OST No. 7911), moisture must not exceed 13%, and ash must not exceed 11%. The native land of Phytolacca is the USA, northern regions. It is distributed along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In the USSR, it is found in western Transcaucasia, in Kakheti, and in Lankaran. It grows in weedy places, by roadsides, and on cultivated forest plots. The black juice of the berries of this plant was used for coloring wines, vodka products, cookies, and when cooking fruits, but this use has been abandoned in view of the non-indifference of all parts of the plant. The root of Phytolacca decandra has medical use as an emetic and laxative; it has been included in the American, Japanese, and British pharmacopoeias. It is also used for chronic rheumatism, scurvy, syphilis, etc. Preparations include Succus inspissatus and Extr. fluid. Doses of the fluid extract: from 0.06 to 0.3 (laxative); as an emetic from 0.6 to 1.2. In folk medicine, the root of Phytolacca is used as a laxative. A piece of root the size of a fingernail is crushed into a small patty. This patty, stirred into half a cup of water, acts as a strong laxative 10 minutes after ingestion. In Imereti, the root is also used as an anti-cestode agent. Ointments for skin diseases are made from it. The berries, together with madder and alum, in the form of a decoction, are used in Kakheti for dyeing silk a burgundy color. The leaves of Phytolacca are sometimes mixed with belladonna leaves, e. Shao. FISCHER, Emil (1852–1919), an outstanding researcher in the field of organic and biological chemistry, who exerted more influence than anyone else on the development of these fields of chemistry. He studied chemistry in Bonn and in Strasbourg under the guidance of Ad. Baeyer; in 1874, he received his doctoral degree. Upon graduating from the university, he was an assistant to Baeyer in Munich; from 1882, he was a professor in Erlangen, from 1885 in Würzburg, and from 1892 until his death, he held the chair of organic chemistry in Berlin. Fischer laid the foundation for the successful systematic study of the most important classes of substances, such as proteins, carbohydrates, purines, tannins, enzymes, etc. His works were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1902. The current state of knowledge in the field of protein chemistry is owed primarily to the works of Fischer. He synthesized and studied a whole series of amino acids, developed a method for separating their mixtures, studied various methods of protein hydrolysis, developed a method for the synthesis of polypeptides, studied the properties of the latter, their ability to be cleaved by enzymes, established their connection with the structure of the protein molecule, etc. The significance of Fischer's work is equally great in the field of studying the chemistry of carbohydrates, purine and pyrimidine bases, and tannins. He elucidated the structure and spatial configuration of sugars, carried out the synthesis of some of them and their derivatives, investigated many natural glycosides and found methods for their synthesis, elucidated the structure of purine and pyrimidine bodies and carried out their synthesis, and studied the structure and conducted the synthesis of tannins. A number of Fischer's works concern the specificity of enzyme action and the significance of the spatial configuration of the substrate for enzymatic action. Together with Mering, Fischer discovered a new class of hypnotics (veronal). His works were primarily published in Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft. In his pedagogical activity, Fischer exerted a great influence on the development of laboratory classes.