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

Abstract

W.R. Witanowski isolated and characterized the naphthoquinone ramentaceone from Drosera rotundifolia in 1934 and named the compound droserone. This constitutes the first publication that described the correct detailed structure of the main naphthoquinone in a sundew species, the first publication that identified ramentaceone as a natural product, and the first publication to introduce the name droserone for this naphthoquinone. Nevertheless, none of these facts is reflected appropriately in the literature until now. This prompts a reappraisal.