Johan Fredrik Eykman or Johann Frederik Eijkman (19 January 1851 – 7 January 1915) was a Dutch chemist.

Family background

He is one of the eight children of Christiaan Eijkman, the headmaster of a local school, and Johanna Alida Pool. His brother

Christiaan Eijkman Christiaan Eijkman ( , , ; 11 August 1858 – 5 November 1930) was a Dutch physician and professor of physiology whose demonstration that beriberi is caused by poor diet led to the discovery of antineuritic vitamins (thiamine). Together with S ...

(1858–1930) was a physician and professor of physiology whose demonstration that beriberi is caused by poor diet led to the discovery of vitamins. Together with Sir Frederick Hopkins, his brother received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Life in Japan

He was hired during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. During his stay in Japan, he was the first to isolate

shikimic acid Shikimic acid, more commonly known as its anionic form shikimate, is a cyclohexene, a cyclitol and a cyclohexanecarboxylic acid. It is an important biochemical metabolite in plants and microorganisms. Its name comes from the Japanese flower ''shi ...

in 1885 from the Japanese flower shikimi (シキミ, the

Japanese star anise ''Illicium anisatum'', with common names Japanese star anise, Aniseed tree, and sacred Anise tree, known in Japan as , is a tree closely related to the Chinese star anise (''Illicium verum)''. Since it is highly toxic, the fruit is not edible ...

, ''Illicium anisatum'').The Botanical Relations of Illicium Religiosum, Sieb., Illicium Anisatum, Lour. J. F. Eykman, American Journal of Pharmacy, 1881, volume 53, Number 8
article

Works

* 1883 : "Phytochemische Notizen ueber einige Japanische Pflanzen"

References

* Notice sur la vie et l'oeuvre scientifique Johan Frederik Eykman. Recueil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas et de la Belgique, 1916, Volume 35, Issue 11-12, pages 365–411, * Johan Frederik Eykman—A physical chemist. van Klooster H. S., Journal of Chemical Education, volume 28, issue 12, page 616,

External links

1851 births 1915 deaths 20th-century Dutch chemists People from Nijkerk Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam University of Tokyo faculty 19th-century Dutch chemists {{Netherlands-scientist-stub