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)