70. The colouring matters of Drosera Whittakeri. Part I. The absorption spectra and colour reactions of hydroxy-naphthaquinones

THE SECRETORY CYCLE OF DIONAEA MUSCIPULA ELLIS.

“…Similar staining properties with osmium tetroxide are found in Kalanchoe hlossfeldiana where the vacuoles are also known to contain anthocyanin (Gifford and Stewart, 1967). Furthermore, in Nepenthes and Drosera the glands are often bright red, in the latter due to naphthoquinones (Macbeth, Price and Winzor, 1935) and stain intensely with osmium (Gilchrist, 1974), whereas in Utricularia the vacuoles are not coloured and are not osmiophilic (Vintejoux, 1974a). It thus appears that the osmiophilic vacuoles contain protein and readily oxidized pigments, the latter reacting strongly with osmium, the former containing some acid phosphatase.…”

Naphthaquinones ofDiospyros batocana

“…xides MS, which result from the loss of an oxygen atom from their molecular ions. Conversely, the loss of a second oxygen atom by these last compounds (2) gives rise to ions at m/e 374 having practically the intensity that the same ion shows in "Substance B" MS.…”

“…From B1, 2-methylnaphthazarin [2] and 7-methyljuglone [3] were isolated. B2 yielded three substances which proved to be identical with biramentaceone [4], rotundiquinone [5] and mamegakinone [6], this being the second time that rotundiquinone has been found to occur in nature.…”

Witanowski’s discovery - and how its early misinterpretation and subsequent neglect continue to impede scientific progress and insight

“…used for a different compound, viz. 3-hydroxyplumbagin (3,5-dihydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, Macbeth et al 1935, first detected in D. whittakeri by Rennie 1887), and this later homonym persists in the literature.…”

“…Only the entirely wrong interpretation and the subsequent neglect (essentially caused and initiated by Dieterle 1935) of Witanowski's (1934) results made later investigators think they (Cooke et al 1952) had determined the structure of M for the first time or they (Paris & Delaveau 1959) had the obligation to give it a new trivial name, or even made them (Macbeth et al 1935) use Witanowski's original name droserone for a different compound that is ironically again derived from the opposite isomer P. Witanowski was thus the researcher who in reality made the first discoveries for which not less than three different, subsequent publications claimed priority, all of which based essentially on the erroneous claims in a fourth subsequent publication! Scheme 1:…”