[Ads-l] kojic acid

[Benjamin Barrett]

Kojic acid is popular on the internet for its cosmetic effects. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojic_acid) and Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kojic_acid) both have articles on this agent which comes from _Aspergillus oryzae_, often known by the Japanese name kōji. Wikipedia has the earliest citation as 1924 by T. Yabuta. Kojic acid is not on the Oxford Dictionary site.

According to “The Production of Formaldehyde by Oxidation of Hydrocarbons” (http://bit.ly/1sBgZuN), kojic acid was first isolated by someone surnamed Saito in 1907. The Japanese Wikipedia says the journal with the discovery is "植物学雑誌”.

According to “Studies on Kojic Acid…” by Itsuo Ichimoto and Chuji Tatsumi (http://bit.ly/27UztXN), Saito’s first initial is K, and according to "Cultural Conditions Studies on Kojic Acid Production by Aspergillus parasiticus” by S.A. El-Aasar (http://bit.ly/1THRYHx), it was Yabuta who named the compound in 1913, though it’s not made clear which language he coined the term in. His first name appears to be Teijirō as per http://rsc.li/1XVCnqU.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org