The history of ergot of rye (Claviceps purpurea) II: 1900–1940

Abstract

Ergot, in 1900, was a 'chemical mess'. Henry Wellcome, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, invited Henry Hallett Dale, a physiologist, to join his research department and solve this problem. Dale, in turn, recruited an outstanding group of scientists, including George Barger, Arthur Ewins and Harold Dudley, who would make distinguished contributions not only to the chemistry of ergot but also to the identification of acetylcholine, histamine and tyramine and to studies on their physiological effects. Initially Barger and Dale isolated the compound ergotoxine, but this proved to be a false lead; it was later shown to be a mixture of three different ergot alkaloids. The major success of the Wellcome group was the discovery and isolation of ergometrine, which would prove to be life-saving in postpartum haemorrhage. In 1917 Arthur Stoll and his colleagues started work on ergot at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Basel. A series of important results emerged over the next 30 years, including the isolation of ergotamine in 1918, an effective treatment for migraine with aura.

Setting the stage for medieval plague: Pre‐black death trends in survival and mortality

“…The presence of these stress markers among people buried in the Black Death cemetery adds to documentary evidence that pre‐Black Death London was particularly stressed by disease (e.g. tuberculosis, smallpox, leprosy, anthrax, and ergotism) and malnutrition (Behbehani, ; Donoghue et al, ; Lamb, ; Lee, ; Manchester, ; Sternbach, ). Such stressors were likely exacerbated by the crowded population of London (Roberts and Cox, ).…”

Perspective: Talking About Mycotoxins

“…This conversation typifies many food safety conversations, but the health stakes are high with consequences such as cancer, birth defects and death going far beyond the normal food safety fears of some form of abdominal distress. Mycotoxins as a food safety issue have existed for millennia, e.g., Schoental (1994) and Lee (2009), although their first formal chemical characterizations did not occur until the 1960s (Nesbitt et al, 1962). Scientists and communicators share joint responsibilities for informing the general public and the stakeholders along a commodity value chain of the risks that mycotoxins may pose and effective ways of dealing with them.…”

Ergotism: Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…8,[11][12][13][14] Involvement of the coronary arteries can cause angina and myocardial infarction. 4,15,16 Involvement of the extracranial vessels and retinal arteries can cause neurological complications and loss of vision, [17][18][19][20] and involvement of the visceral arteries can result in visceral ischemia and renovascular complications. 9,[21][22][23][24] The direct vasoconstrictive effect that is associated with ergotism curiously targets medium-sized vessels, notably the external iliac artery and the superficial femoral artery.…”