Otto Richard Gottlieb, Czech-born Jewish Brazilian phytochemist and biogeochemist (Brno, Czech Republic 31 Aug 1920 – Rio de Janeiro 19 June 2011) 

From Czech father and Brazilian mother

ACHIEVEMENTS

Authored 656 publications (papers, book chapters, 5 books & 2 patents), 637 lectures and 1181 communications to congresses.

Founder Quantitative Chemobiology

With Nei R. de Brito and Maria R. de Mello B. Borin. Quantitative Chemobiology. Pure & Applied Chemistry. 73(3):583-8, 2001.

Founder chemosystematics or Plant Biochemical Systematics  

Showed how certain pathways could be employed for classification.

With Maria Auxiliadora Coelho Kaplan, developed a nomenclature system of chemical compounds in which organic tridimensional structure is displayed as a nodal geometric form  representing atoms and links

With M.A.C. Kaplan. RNS (Replacement-Nodal-Substractive) nomenclature and codes of chemical compounds. J. Chem. Inf. Comp. Sci. 26(1):1-3, 1986.   

Proposed a new indicator (Taxonomic Singularity indicator)

With M.R. de M.B. Borin. The Diversity of Plants: Where is it? Why is it there? What will it become? Anais Acad. Bras. Ciencias 66 (Suppl): 55-83, 1994. 

Proposed herbaceousness index 

Micromolecular Evolution, systematics and Ecology. An essay into a novel botanical discipline. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 1982   

Identified hundred of new lignoids and discovered a new group that named neolignans

Chemosystematics of Lauraceae. Phytochemistry 11:1537-1570, 1972. 

Discovered dalbergiones, a new class of natural products  and suggested the name neoflavanoids 

With W.B. Eyton, W.D. Ollis, I.O. Sutherland, L.M. Jackman & M. Taveira Magalhães. The neoflavanoid group of natural products. I. Dalbergiones: a new group of natural products. Tetrahedron 21(9):2683-96, 1965   

With L.M. Conserva, M. Yoshida, J.C. Martínez & H.E. Gottlieb. The chemistry of Brazilian Myristicaceae. XXXII. Iryantherins, lignoflavonoids of novel structural types from the Myristicaceae. Phytochemistry 29:3911-8, 1990

With N. Boralle proposed oligostilbenes as a new class of condensed tannins  (1989)

With M.A. de Alvarenga discovered microandrols, a new class of natural phenanthrenes (1973)

Identified and isolated the first odoriferous nitroderived compound (1-nitro-2-phenylethane) in essential oils (with Mauro Taveira Magalhães)

With M. T. Magalhães. Occurrence of 1-nitro-2-phenylethane in Ocotea pretiosa and Aniba canelilla. J. Org. Chem. 24:2070, 1959.

With W.B. Mors. Phylogeny of the genus Aniba Aubl. A comparative morphological and chemical observation. Nature 184 (4698):1589, 1959

Isolated anibine alkaloid from Aniba duckei, the first aryl a-pyrone alkaloid displaying an aryl-heterocyclic group

With W.B. Mors & C.Djerassi. The Chemistry of Rosewood. Isolation and Structure of Anibine and 4-Methoxyparacotoin. J. Am.Chem. Soc. 79(16):4507-11, 1957.

Obtained the first naturally occurring polyhydroxylated pyrrolizidine carboxylic acid

With A.C.S. Pereira, J.G.S. Maia, M.A.C. Kaplan, R.J. Nash, G. Fleet, L. Pearse, D.F. Watkin & A.M. Scofield. Isolation of 7a-epialexaflorine from leaves of Alexa grandiflora, an unique pyrrolizidine amino acid with carboxylic acid substituent at C3. Tetrahedron 47(290):5637-40, 1991

With Z.S. Ferreira, N.C. Roque & H.E. Gottlieb obtained a distinct type of benzofuranoid neolignan (1982)

With M.G.B. Zoghbi & N.F. Roque obtained the first coumarinoneolignan (1981)

With V. da Silva, M.T. Magalhães, H.E. Gottlieb & M.A. Alvarenga obtained diasin, a novel rearranged labdanic diterpene (1978)

With J.F. Castelão Jr, R.A. de Lima et al. obtained the first xanthonolignan (1977)

With J.C. Aiba & R. Braz Filho proposed the structure of neolignan porosin (1973)

With R.G.C. Correa & C.J. Aiba. Natural occurrence of Erdtmann’s dehydrodiisoeugenol. Phytochem. 12:1163-4, 1973

With J. Rego de Sousa found 2 novel types of natural peltogynoids (1972)

With N.C. Franca, D.T. Coxon & W.D. Ollis obtained rubrenolide and rubrynolide, two structurally novel natural products from Nectandra rubra (1972)   

Isolated a new type of natural 6-styryl-2-pyrones from Aniba parviflora and reported a general route for their synthesis 

With A.M. Bittencourt, W.B. Mors, M.T. Magalhães, S. Mageswaran, W.D. Ollis & I.O. Sutherland. The natural occurrence of 6-styryl-2-pyrones and their synthesis. Tetrahedron 27(5):1043-8, 1971

With W.D. Ollis, B.T. Redman, R.J. Roberts & I.O. Sutherland recognized the neoflavenes, a new neoflavanoid type (1968)  

Found the natural occurrence of benzyl styrenes (c.1966)

First to isolate 5,6 dehydrokavain from a natural source 

With W.B. Mors. Identity of compound A from kava root with 5,6 dehydrokavain. J. Org. Chem. 24(10):1614-5, 1959

With F.J. Mattos obtained the first isocucurbitacins (1967)

With S.J. Gabriel obtained the first tovoxanthone (1972)

With M.C.M. Miraglia, A.A.L. Mesquita, A.P.Paula et al. obtained a dihydrochalcone with a novel structure from fern Pityrogramma calomelanos (1983)

METHODS

A method for volumetric determination of ionic nitrate

With M. Taveira Magalhães. Determinação volumétrica do íon nitrato. Bol. Inst. Quim. Agr. 47:7-18, 1956

A new rapid method for quantitative determination of linalol

Novo método para a determinação quantitativa do linalol. Revista de Quimica Industrial 16:222, 1947.

A process for obtaining anibine and its transformation to nicotinic acid (1967)

A process for obtaining 4-methoxy-paracotoin and its transformation to piperonyl-radical containing substances (1963) 

DEVICES

Proposed and patented gasometric titrimetry

Simple instrument for titrimetric without indicators. Gas pressure end-point technique. VIII. Acid-base reactions. Anal. Chim.Acta 13:101-107, 1955

Dispositivo simples para titrimetria sem indicadores. I. Acidimetria e alcalimetria. An. Assoc. Quim. Brasil 12:29-33, 1953

Titrimetria gasométrica. Bol. Inst. Quim. Agricola 42 (1955)

Developed a Clevenger apparatus modified 

With M.T. Magalhães. Modified distillation trap. Chemist. Analyst 49(4):114, 1960.

HONORS

Pergamon Phytochemistry Prize, Pergamon Press (1992)

Doctor Honoris Causa, Universitat Hamburg, 1988

Chemistry Nobel Prize nominee (1998, 1999 & 2000)