Axel Holst (Professor)

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Axel Holst, around 1930

Axel Holst (born September 6, 1860 in Christiania , † April 26, 1931 in Oslo) was a Norwegian professor of hygiene and bacteriology at the University of Oslo . He gained worldwide fame through his contributions to beriberi and scurvy .

life and work

Holst acquired a medical degree in 1884 and was licensed to practice medicine in 1892 . In 1893 he received a chair at the Royal Friedrichs University , Oslo, where he taught and researched until 1921. Together with the pediatrician Theodor Frølich , Holst examined a disease that occurred in the Norwegian fishing fleet. Inspired by the research results of Christiaan Eijkman and Gerrit Grijns , Holst suspected a nutritional deficiency. He then called the disease ship's beriberi .

In animal experiments with guinea pigs, Holst and Frølich discovered that the animals developed scurvy when they were given certain grain diets. They also found that supplementing with fresh cabbage or lemon juice could prevent the disease.

The results published by Holst and Frølich in 1907, which also showed that the factors effective against scurvy and beriberi are not identical, were not accepted by experts. It would be a few more years before the theory of vitamins prevailed and Holst's research was recognized.

Holst has been namesake for Holst Point , a headland on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula , since 1959 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A. Holst, T. Frölich: Experimental Studies Relating to "Ship-beri-beri" and Scurvy. In: The Journal of hygiene. Volume 7, Number 5, October 1907, pp. 634-671, ISSN  0022-1724 . PMID 20474337 . PMC 2236195 (free full text).
  2. ^ Otto Westphal , Theodor Wieland , Heinrich Huebschmann: life regulator. Of hormones, vitamins, ferments and other active ingredients. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1941 (= Frankfurter Bücher. Research and Life. Volume 1), pp. 47–51.

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Holst, Axel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian hygienist and bacteriologist
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Christiania
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 1931
Place of death Oslo