Biography
Walter Baptist Mors, Brazilian plant chemist (São Paulo 23 November 1920 – Rio de Janeiro 06 October 2008)
ACHIEVEMENTS
Isolated plant compounds with toxicity to cattle
Isolated many plant chemicals acting as snake venom antidotes, for example wedelactone of Eclipta prostata
With M.C. do Nascimento, J.P. Parente, M.H. da Silva, P.A. Melo & G. Suarez Kurtz. Neutralization of lethal and myotoxic activities of South American rattle snake venoms by extracts and constituents of the plant Eclipta prostata (Asteraceae). Toxicon 27(9):1003-9, 1989
Discovered hipoglicemiant effect of anti-diabetic plant Myrcia uniflora
Identified 14, 15-epoxi-geranylgeraniol, from fruits oil of Pterodon pubescens which prevents the penetration of cercariae of Schistosoma into the skin of host (1967)
With M.F. Santos Filho, H.J. Monteiro, B. Gilbert & J. Pellegrino. Chemoprophylactic agent in schistosomiasis: 14,15-epoxigeranylgeraniol. Science 157:950-1, 1967.
First to verify the presence of mannuronic acid in a vascular plant
With O. Ribeiro. Estudo químico da mucilagem das estípulas da imbaúba Cecropia adenopus Mart. Rev. Soc. Bras. Quim. 19(3-4):1224-40, 1950
Isolated anibine alkaloid from Aniba duckei, the first aryl a-pyrone alkaloid displaying a aryl-heterocyclic group
With O.R. Gottlieb & C.Djerassi. The Chemistry of Rosewood. Isolation and Structure of Anibine and 4-Methoxyparacotoin. J. Am.Chem. Soc. 79(16):4507-11, 1957.
Discovered asclepiasides, cardioactive glucosides of genus Asclepias
With S.C. Cascon. Os glucosídeos cardíacos da Asclepias curassavica L., planta tóxica das pastagens brasileiras. Arch. Jard. Bot. 16:103-116, 1958
With O.R. Gottlieb. Phylogeny of the genus Aniba Aubl. A comparative morphological and chemical observation. Nature 184 (4698):1589, 1959
First to isolate 5,6 dehydrokavain from a natural source
With O. R. Gottlieb. Identity of compound A from kava root with 5,6 dehydrokavain. J. Org. Chem. 24(10):1614-5, 1959
Isolated ichthyotherol, possibly the first toxic polyacetylene from a plant
With S.C. Cascon, B.M. Tursch, R.T. Aplin, L.J. Durham. Ichthyotherol and its acetate: the active polyacetylene constituents of Ichthyothere terminalis (Spreng) Malme, a fish poison from the Lower Amazon.Amer. Chem. Soc. J. 87:5237-41, 1965.
Discovered a new synthesis of N-methyl-tiramine
With S. C. Cascon. Substancias isoladas da Palicourea marcgravii St.Hil. Uma nova síntese de N-metil-tiramina. Anais Assoc. Bras. Quim. 21:53-60, 1962
With B. Tursch, E. Tursch, I.T. Harrison, G.B.C.T. C. B. Silva, H.J. Monteiro, B. Gilbert & C. Djerassi. Terpenoids. LIII. Demonstration of a ring conformational changes in triterpenes of the β-amyrin class isolated from Stryphnodendron coriaceum. J. Org. Chem. 28(9), 1963 (obtained a series of novel triterpenoids sapogenins)
Isolated a new type of natural 6-styryl-2-pyrones from Aniba parviflora (1971), showed the natural occurrence of 6-styryl-2-pyrones and reported a general route for their synthesis
With A.M. Bittencourt, O.R. Gottlieb, 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 B. Gilbert & M.C. Nascimento. Um novo grupo de heterociclos oxigenados de Derris araripensis Ducke. Cien. Cult. 24(6):129-30, 1972
Isolated derricidine, a new structural chalcone
With M.C. do Nascimento. Chalcones of the root bark of Derris sericea. Phytochemistry 11:3023-8, 1972
With H.S. Xavier isolated serjanosides from Serjania caracasana (1975)
Obtained the derriobtusones, the first auronols found in the nature
With M.C. do Nascimento & R.L. de Vasconcellos Dias. Derriobtusones A and B – 1st examples of natural auronols. An. Acad. Bras. Ciencias 48(2):354-5, 1976
First description of 8 new flavonoid species
With M.C. do Nascimento. Flavonoids of Derris araripensis. Phytochemistry 25(10):2425-7, 1986
Modified drying tower for Dennstedt analysis method
With M. Saraiva. Modificação da torre de secagem na análise elementar segundo Dennstedt. Boletim Inst Quim Agrícola 20, 1951
Authored with C.T.Rizzini & N.A. Pereira, Medicinal Plants of Brazil (2000), with international repercussion
Authored with C.T. Rizzini, Useful Brazilian plants (1966), edited in English and German
MEMBERSHIP
Elected Member, Linnean Society of London (1982)
HONORS
Morsacanthus Rizzini 1952 (Acanthaceae)