Historical Note: Yackzan of Vanderbilt, an unacknowledged investigator in the discovery of ergothioneine in biological tissues

Abstract

In 1909, Tanret in France, extracted ergothioneine (ET) from the ergot of rye. Its empirical formula is C9 H15 O2 N3 ; regarded as a betaine, and recognized as the only naturally occurring thiolimidazole amino acid. Within its structure is the sulfhydryl group which is the main effector of antioxidation. Its biological importance is its role as an antioxidant; but, to have physiological significance, a transporter (ONCT1) is needed to enter the plasma cell. In 1950, it was known that ET was present in blood but unknown whether it was present in biological tissues. Kamal Yackzan, a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Oscar Touster at Vanderbilt University, investigated this subject by (a)altering concentrations and ratios of existing reagents of prevailing methods and (b) using paper chromatographic analytical techniques and found quantifiable concentrations were found in liver, kidney, cardiac and spleenic tissues. In 1951, these results were recorded in an obscure publication of the University (1). Three years later while using column chromatography, Melville confirmed Yackzan's tissue findings and that the liver and kidney had the highest concentrations with the heart and the spleen having the lowest values (JBC. 206: 221, 1954). In the decades that have followed,ET has received research and commercial interest as a strong antioxidant with therapeutic value for select health disorders and diseases.___________________________________________________1. Yackzan, K. Paper chromatographic analysis for ergothioneine in tissue. In: Bulletin of Vanderbilt University Abstracts of Theses. Nashville, 1951, p. 56.