Raffaele Piria ( Scilla 20 August 1814 –

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

18 July 1865) was an Italian chemist from Scilla, who lived in Palmi. He converted the substance Salicin into a sugar and a second component, which on oxidation becomes

salicylic acid Salicylic acid is an organic compound with the formula HOC6H4CO2H. A colorless, bitter-tasting solid, it is a precursor to and a metabolite of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). It is a plant hormone, and has been listed by the EPA Toxic Substa ...

, a major component of the analgesic drug

Aspirin Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...

( acetylsalicylic acid). Other reactions discovered by Piria were the conversion of

aspartic acid Aspartic acid (symbol Asp or D; the ionic form is known as aspartate), is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Like all other amino acids, it contains an amino group and a carboxylic acid. Its α-amino group is in the pro ...

to malic acid by action of nitrogen dioxide, and the reaction of aromatic nitro compounds with sulfite towards aminosulfonic acids.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piria, Raffaele Italian chemists People from Scilla, Calabria People from Palmi 1814 births 1865 deaths University of Pisa faculty