Reichstein, Tadeus

▪ 1997

      Polish-born Swiss chemist (b. July 20, 1897, Wloclawek, Pol.—d. Aug. 1, 1996, Basel, Switz.), identified the steroid hormones of the adrenal cortex and studied their structure and biological effects. For his role in this discovery, he shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1950 with Philip S. Hench and Edward C. Kendall, who carried out independent research on steroids. Reichstein showed that the adrenal cortex, the outer portion of the adrenal glands located at the upper ends of the kidneys, produces many hormones. He and his colleagues isolated and examined about 29 of them, including cortisone, which was discovered to be an anti-inflammatory agent useful in the treatment of arthritis. Reichstein graduated (1920) with a degree in chemical engineering from the Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, where he obtained a Ph.D. two years later. In 1930 he became an instructor there, and he had risen to the level of associate professor by the time he left in 1937. His early research with Nobel Prize-winning chemist Hermann Staudinger included identifying the chemicals in coffee that impart flavour and aroma, work that provided the basis for the development of powdered coffee. He also devised a method for synthesizing (1933) vitamin C in the laboratory, a procedure that remained widely in use in commercial production of the vitamin. In 1938 Reichstein moved to the University of Basel and was appointed director of the Pharmaceutical Institute; in 1946 he became head of the newly created Institute of Organic Chemistry. There he studied plant-derived glycosides, chemicals that have a wide range of biological effects, to determine their usefulness as pharmaceuticals. This work also was important in plant classification. Although he retired in 1967, Reichstein conducted significant research into his 90s.

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▪ Swiss chemist

born July 20, 1897, Włocławek, Pol.

died Aug. 1, 1996, Basel, Switz.

      Swiss chemist who, with Philip S. Hench (Hench, Philip Showalter) and Edward C. Kendall (Kendall, Edward Calvin), received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1950 for his discoveries concerning hormones of the adrenal cortex.

      Reichstein was educated in Zürich and held posts in the department of organic chemistry at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, from 1930. From 1946 to 1967 he was professor of organic chemistry at the University of Basel. He received the Nobel Prize for research carried out independently on the steroid hormones (steroid hormone) produced by the adrenal cortex, the outer layer of the adrenal gland. Reichstein and his colleagues isolated about 29 hormones and determined their structure and chemical composition. One of the hormones they isolated, cortisone, was later discovered to be an anti-inflammatory agent useful in the treatment of arthritis. Reichstein was also involved in developing methods to synthesize the hormones he had discovered, among them cortisone and desoxycorticosterone, which was used for many years to treat Addison's disease.

      Apart from hormone research, Reichstein is also known for his synthesis of vitamin C, a feat achieved about the same time (1933) in England by Sir Walter N. Haworth and coworkers. In the latter part of his career, Reichstein studied plant glycosides, chemicals that can be used in the development of therapeutic drugs. He was awarded the Copley Medal of the British Royal Society in 1968.

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