Veilchenduft, ectopic olfactory receptors and endogenous volatile compounds: Who was Paul Krüger (1859-1916)?

The pharmacist and chemist Ferdinand Tiemann (1848-1899) having succeeded in the synthesis of vanillin, is considered to be the father of Geschmackstoff-Chemie (flavor chemistry). Tiemann, together with Paul Krüger (1859-1916) and then with Friedrich-Wilhelm Semmler (1860-1931), developed a method to obtain with a good yield Veilchenduft (violet scent); they condensed citral with di-methyl-ketone (acetone) thus generating an intermediate which upon exposure to an acidic environment cyclizes to ionone. By doing so the fragrance chemistry was born. Ionone (the compound responsible for the violet scent) was produced on an industrial scale at the factory of Wilhelm Haarmann (1847-1931) in Holzminden, factory renamed 1876 Haarmann & Reimer, after Karl Reimer (1845-1881) joined the group of owners. While a number of chemists and pharmacists were involved in the synthesis of Ionone (Veilchenduft; violet scent) and irone (iris scent), with few exceptions, their biographies are pretty well documented. In contrast, very little transpired about Dr. Paul Krüger, who spent some seven years trying to iron out the difficulties of ionone synthesis. The purpose of this short contribution is to shed some light on the life and work of Paul Krüger while providing an overview on the status of ionone pharmacology and to highlight the historical significance of ionone synthesis.

The Roman and Islamic spice trade: New archaeological evidence.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Tropical spices have long been utilized in traditional medicine and cuisine. New archaeological evidence highlights temporal changes in the nature and scale of the ancient spice trade and in the ancient usage of these plants. Furthermore, a study of their 'materiality' highlights that the impact of spices extends beyond their material properties. Here the botanical remains of spices recovered from archaeological excavations at a port active in the Roman and medieval Islamic spice trade are evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Recent excavations at Quseir al-Qadim, an ancient port located on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, have provided new evidence for the spice trade. Due to the arid conditions ancient botanical remains were preserved in abundance and these included spices, as well as a wide range of other food plants. Quseir al-Qadim was active as a transport hub during both the Roman and Islamic periods (ca. AD 1-250, known as Myos Hormos, and again during ca. AD 1050-1500, known as Kusayr), and the remains thus facilitate a study of temporal change in the trade and usage of these spices. Standard archaeobotanical methods were used to recover, identify and analyze these remains. RESULTS: At least seven tropical spices were recovered from the excavations, as well as several other tropical imports, including black pepper (Piper nigrum), ginger (Zingiber officinale), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), turmeric (Curcuma sp.), fagara (cf. Tetradium ruticarpum), myrobalan (Terminalia bellirica and Terminalia chebula) and betelnut (Areca catechu). A marked contrast between the two chronological periods in the range of spices recovered points to changes in the nature and scale of the trade between the Roman and medieval Islamic periods, while differences in the contexts from which they were recovered help to identify temporal changes in the way in which the spices were utilized during those periods. CONCLUSION: Archaeological and textual evidence suggest that in antiquity spices were used in ritual (funeral rites, offerings), in perfumery, and in medicinal remedies, with black pepper the only tropical spice regularly employed in cuisine. By the medieval period the culinary role of spices had grown significantly, both in the Middle East and in Europe, while retaining their importance in medicinal applications. In both time periods they were luxuries available only to the upper strata of society, but the material properties of spices and their elite status made them desirable to a wider section of society. In their pursuit of spices people became entangled in a meshwork of relationships, altered social realities and political power struggles. Globalization is one such entanglement, highlighting that the potency of spices goes far beyond their ability to stimulate our taste buds, delight our sense of smell and cure our ailments.

[And Sarah Félix created "L 'Eau des Fées" and "La Parfumerie des Fées"]. / Et Sarah Félix créa l'Eau des Fées et la Parfumerie des Fées....

century, the parisian perfumery of Sarah Felix was famous especially for her cosmetic "L'Eau des Fées" ("Water of the Fairies"), a dyeing supposed to give back to the old hair the color of their youth. Sarah Felix, sister of the famous actress Rachel, exercised several jobs before becoming perfumer. At first, she was actress, then she tried ... oyster culture in Normandy ! Abandoning these activities, Sarah Felix became really a businesswoman in Paris. She dedicated herself to perfumery, in particular to "L'Eau des Fées", from 1866. To launch its product, she was associated to competency characters (engineer, pharmacist, physician) and benefited from the protection of the imperial family. A lawsuit between the associates and the 1870 war hindered the company's early days, but "L'Eau des Fées" provided with quality pledges, imposed itself definitely. The "Parfumerie des Fées" completed the range of its cosmetics with creams, powders, etc. Sarah Félix paid attention to present "L'Eau des Fées" as a dye devoid of toxicity. Was it really the case and could il be sold nowadays? These two issues are discussed in the last part.

[The Lance-parfum (perfume-squirter), a medical equipment which became a carnival article]. / Le lance-parfum. Un matériel médical devenu accessoire de carnaval.

The perfume-squirter was a glass or metal tube. It contained parfumed ethyl chloride and was very famous as carnival article. Therefore, ethyl chloride in tubes existed before, and was used by surgeons for local anesthetics. The authors study patents to prove this relationship and analyse letters written before the First World War by the Swiss perfumer Givaudan and a French physician, Dr Besançon.

A smelling trip into the past: the influence of synthetic materials on the history of perfumery.

Contemporary perfumery has its roots in the work of the past, and many of the perfumes from this time have long since disappeared. What follows is a short account of some of the most famous perfumes from the past which have been inspired by the novel synthetic materials of the time. These important creations include, 'Fougère Royale' by Houbigant (1884) containing coumarin (1), 'Jicky' by Guerlain (1889) containing vanillin (2) and linalool (3), 'Vera Violetta' by Roger & Gallet (1892) containing alpha- and beta-ionone (4 and 5, resp.), 'Trèfle Incarnat' by Piver (1898) containing isoamyl salicylate (6), 'La Rose Jacqueminot' of Coty (1904) containing Rhodinol (7), 'Après l'Ondée' by Guerlain (1906) containing para-anisaldehyde (8), 'Quelques Fleurs' by Houbigant (1912) containing hydroxycitronellal (9), 'N degrees 5' by Chanel (1921) containing the aldehydes C-10 (10), C-110 (11), and C-12 (12), 'Nuit De Noël' by Caron (1922) containing 6-isobutylquinoline (14), and 'Femme' by Rochas (1944) containing the so-called 'aldehyde C-14' (15, gamma-undecalactone). The Osmotheque, the International Conservatory of Perfumes, was launched in 1990 and is regarded as a primary source of knowledge for the history of perfumery. Its vocation is to compile an amazing collection of 1700 perfumes (400 of them almost forgotten fragrances)--jewels of perfumery.

[The Book of the Eparch, by Leo VI: interest for the history of pharmacy]. / Le Livre du Préfet de Léon le sage: intérêt pour l'histoire de la pharmacie et des médicaments.

In 1893, Jules Nicole discovered a greek manuscript, named Genevensis 23, which proved to be the Book of the Eparch. This document contained the regulations for trade guilds in Constantinople, at the end of the IXth century and the beginning of the Xth century. It had been published by Emperor Leo VI, who reigned upon the Byzantine Empire from 886 to 911. Three professions mentioned in this book have some interest for history of pharmacy: wax chandlers, spicers and perfumers. The differences between spicers and perfumers consisted in the kind of products they sold and in the way they weighed these products. Spicers were, at the time, far from pharmacy, because they sold mainly food and no spices, while the perfumers dealt with spices and perfumes. Anyway, none of these professions was involved in preparing medicines. No mention was made of pigmentarioi in the Book of the Eparch and that raised the question of the part really played by these so-called "pigment makers" in the preparation and the dispensation of medicines. The role of physicians remained preeminent in supplying patients with drugs.

Cambio social en relación a la higiene personal. Principales representaciones simbólicas en torno al agua durante el renacimiento / Social change concerning the personal hygiene. Main symbolic representations of the water during the renaissance

El antropocentrismo propio de la Edad Moderna fue produciendo un singular cambio en torno a la necesidad de higiene. Sin embargo, durante esa misma época, los discursos médicos tuvieron una influencia negativa sobre la creación de mitos sociales en relación con el agua y los baños. La sociedad estigmatizó al usuario de los baños públicos, al éstos considerados fuente de pecado y de infecciones. Las prácticas higiénicas de la época se redujeron al aseo de las partes visibles, ignorando el resto del cuerpo, y al uso de polvos, perfumes y ropa interior. Como consecuencia de todo ello, desaparecieron los baños públicos (AU)

Experimental techniques and laboratory apparatus in ancient Greece: drug and perfume preparation.

Ancient greek laboratory experts - phycisians, drogists or perfumers - may be accredited with the evolution of rather sophisticated techniques for the isolat-ion of plant ingredients and the preparation of medicines and fragnances. Mainly based on literary sources, from linear B tablets to Galen or the alchemic corpus, the present paper presents these procedures and describes the apparatus use.