Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Pyrogallol
open-in-new
<h2 id="production-and-reactions">Production and reactions</h2> <p>It is produced in the manner first reported by <a href="/facts/Carl_Wilhelm_Scheele/kcKBwyXa">Scheele</a> in 1786: heating <a href="/facts/Gallic_acid/PJLYqGrG">gallic acid</a> to induce decarboxylation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>Gallic acid is also obtained from <a href="/facts/Tannin/vKIvHoTX">tannin</a>. Many alternative routes have been devised. One preparation involves treating <i>para</i>-chlorophenoldisulfonic acid with <a href="/facts/Potassium_hydroxide/NBhPBuXc">potassium hydroxide</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> a variant on the time-honored route to phenols from <a href="/facts/Sulfonic_acid/6JHPGnNY">sulfonic acids</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>Polyhydroxybenzenes are relatively electron-rich. One manifestation is the easy C-acetylation of pyrogallol.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="uses">Uses</h2> <p>It was once used in <a href="/facts/Hair_dyeing/NyeYhUUF">hair dyeing</a>, dyeing of suturing materials. It also has <a href="/facts/Antiseptic/ua05WK9M">antiseptic</a> properties. </p><p>In alkaline solution, pyrogallol undergoes deprotonation. Such solutions absorb <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a> from the air, turning brown. This conversion can be used to determine the amount of oxygen in a gas sample, notably by the use of the <a href="/facts/Orsat_apparatus/dEsjwat7">Orsat apparatus</a>. Alkaline solutions of pyrogallol have been used for <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a> absorption in gas analysis. </p> <h3>Use in photography</h3> <p>Pyrogallol was also used as a <a href="/facts/Photographic_developer/kSs0tfgV">developing agent</a> in the 19th and early 20th centuries in black-and-white developers. <a href="/facts/Hydroquinone/QQ5EfwCF">Hydroquinone</a> is more commonly used today. Its use is largely historical except for special purpose applications. It was still used by a few notable photographers including <a href="/facts/Edward_Weston/Dhkyzbwc">Edward Weston</a>. In those days it had a reputation for erratic and unreliable behavior, due possibly to its propensity for oxidation. It experienced a revival starting in the 1980s due largely to the efforts of experimenters Gordon Hutchings and <a href="/facts/John_Wimberley/DE2XCdt9">John Wimberley</a>. Hutchings spent over a decade working on pyrogallol formulas, eventually producing one he named PMK for its main ingredients: pyrogallol, <a href="/facts/Metol/k3W1wE4F">Metol</a>, and <a href="/facts/Sodium_metaborate/pd8nob87">Kodalk</a> (the trade name of <a href="/facts/Eastman_Kodak/zMnK74Cp">Kodak</a> for sodium metaborate). This formulation resolved the consistency issues, and Hutchings found that an interaction between the greenish stain given to film by pyro developers and the color sensitivity of modern <a href="/facts/Photographic_paper/7P6Q8H6D">variable-contrast photographic papers</a> gave the effect of an extreme <a href="/facts/Photographic_developer/kSs0tfgV">compensating developer</a>. From 1969 to 1977, Wimberley experimented with the Pyrogallol developing agent. He published his formula for WD2D in 1977 in Petersen's Photographic. PMK and other modern pyro formulations are now used by many black-and-white photographers. The Film Developing Cookbook has examples.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Another developer mainly based on pyrogallol was formulated by Jay DeFehr. The 510-pyro,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> is a concentrate that uses <a href="/facts/Triethanolamine/LRurR5UE">triethanolamine</a> as <a href="/facts/Alkali/s6NqPGSP">alkali</a>, and pyrogallol, <a href="/facts/Ascorbic_acid/IA2f1fTm">ascorbic acid</a>, and <a href="/facts/Phenidone/DkLIMJgb">phenidone</a> as combined developers in a single concentrated stock solution with long shelf life. This developer has both staining and tanning properties and negatives developed with it are immune to the <a href="/facts/Callier_effect/DHBVKw2u">callier effect</a>. It can be used for small and large negative formats. </p><p>The Darkroom Cookbook (Alternative Process Photography) has examples.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="safety">Safety</h2> <p>Pyrogallol use, e.g. in hair dye formulations, is declining because of concerns about its toxicity.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Its <a href="/facts/Median_lethal_dose/PSTer8Wv">LD50</a> (oral, rat) is 300 mg/kg.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>Pure pyrogallol was found to be extremely <a href="/facts/Genotoxic/fRUJaqxo">genotoxic</a> when inserted <a href="/facts/In_vitro/evp3hAX6">into cultured cells</a>, but <a href="/facts/Alpha_amylase/6xXvngle">α amylase proteins</a> protect against its toxicity during everyday exposure.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Catechol/enIjoGHW">Catechol</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Gallacetophenone/KzWEFSPX">Gallacetophenone</a> (2,3,4-trihydroxyacetophenone)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gallic_acid/PJLYqGrG">Gallic acid</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Syringol/kCMUYbfP">Syringol</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Fiege, Helmut; Heinz-Werner, Voges; Hamamoto, Toshikazu; Umemura, Sumio; Iwata, Tadao; Miki, Hisaya; Fujita, Yasuhiro; Buysch, Hans-Josef; Garbe, Dorothea; Paulus, Wilfried (2014). "Phenol Derivatives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.). Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. p. 1072. doi:10.1002/14356007.a19_313. ISBN 978-3-527-30673-2. <a href="978-3-527-30673-2" target="_blank">978-3-527-30673-2</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Fiege, Helmut; Heinz-Werner, Voges; Hamamoto, Toshikazu; Umemura, Sumio; Iwata, Tadao; Miki, Hisaya; Fujita, Yasuhiro; Buysch, Hans-Josef; Garbe, Dorothea; Paulus, Wilfried (2014). "Phenol Derivatives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.). Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. p. 1072. doi:10.1002/14356007.a19_313. ISBN 978-3-527-30673-2. <a href="978-3-527-30673-2" target="_blank">978-3-527-30673-2</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Buzbee, Lloyd R. (1966-10-01). "Rearranged Products from the Reaction of Benzenesulfonic Acids with Caustic". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 31 (10): 3289–3292. doi:10.1021/jo01348a042. ISSN 0022-3263. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Magro, Angel A. Núñez; Eastham, Graham R.; Cole-Hamilton, David J. (2009-06-10). "Preparation of Phenolic Compounds by Decarboxylation of Hydroxybenzoic Acids or Desulfonation of Hydroxybenzenesulfonic Acid, Catalysed by Electron Rich Palladium Complexes". Dalton Transactions (24): 4683–8. doi:10.1039/B900398C. ISSN 1477-9234. PMID 19513476. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Badhwar, I. C.; Venkataraman, K. (1934). "Gallacetophenone". Organic Syntheses. 14: 40. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.014.0040. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Anchell, Stephen G.; Troop, Bill (1998). The Film Developing Cookbook. ISBN 978-0240802770. <a href="978-0240802770" target="_blank">978-0240802770</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"510-PYRO". 510-PYRO. <a href="http://pyrostains.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://pyrostains.blogspot.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Anchell, Stephen G. (2016). The darkroom cookbook (Fourth ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781138959187. OCLC 938707611. <a href="9781138959187" target="_blank">9781138959187</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Safety data for 1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene". Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2009-03-05. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090228081954/http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/TR/1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090228081954/http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/TR/1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Fiege, Helmut; Heinz-Werner, Voges; Hamamoto, Toshikazu; Umemura, Sumio; Iwata, Tadao; Miki, Hisaya; Fujita, Yasuhiro; Buysch, Hans-Josef; Garbe, Dorothea; Paulus, Wilfried (2014). "Phenol Derivatives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.). Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. p. 1072. doi:10.1002/14356007.a19_313. ISBN 978-3-527-30673-2. <a href="978-3-527-30673-2" target="_blank">978-3-527-30673-2</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Cancer Biologists Find DNA-Damaging Toxins in Common Plant-Based Foods". Johns Hopkins Medicine (Press release). Retrieved 11 February 2024. <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/cancer_biologists_find_dna_damaging_toxins_in_common_plant_based_foods" target="_blank">https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/cancer_biologists_find_dna_damaging_toxins_in_common_plant_based_foods</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Hossain, M. Zulfiquer; Patel, Kalpesh; Kern, Scott E. (Aug 2014). "Salivary α-amylase, serum albumin, and myoglobin protect against DNA-damaging activities of ingested dietary agents in vitro". Food and Chemical Toxicology. 70: 114–119. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2014.05.002. PMC 4095877. PMID 24842839, summarized in Wasta, Vanessa (30 May 2014). "Compounds in Saliva and Common Body Proteins May Fend Off DNA-Damaging Chemicals in Tea, Coffee and Liquid Smoke" (Press release). Johns Hopkins Medicine. Archived from the original on 27 Feb 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4095877" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4095877</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>