Dr. Macht was known for his pioneering use of a technique he termed phytopharmacology which involved measuring the effects of drugs on plants. Macht's specific technique was to measure the growth rate of Lupinus albus seedlings when dosed with a test substance, and compare this against a control group of undosed seeds. The relative length of root growth would determine what he called the phytotoxic index, and provide a measure of the toxicity of the substance to the plants.
Dr. Macht applied his technique of phytopharmacology to a variety of substances, including the blood of people suffering from medical conditions. In 1930, he reported it could be used to demonstrate the presence of snake venom and menotoxin (a toxin thought to be present in the blood of menstruating women). He felt the technique could aid in the differential diagnosis of pernicious anemia, leprosy, pemphigus and other conditions. At the time of his death it was reported that his technique could serve as an indicator of mental illness, since "the blood of persons suffering from certain types of mental illness acts as a poison on species of the European bean". To date, neither the existence of menotoxin nor the ability of phytopharmacology to predict toxicity to humans has been scientifically corroborated by independent researchers.
His claims to have used phytopharmacology to demonstrate the presence of menotoxin in the saliva, tears and blood of menstruating women are contentious at best. At the time, the theory of the existence of menotoxin was widely believed. Macht saw his studies as confirmation of this and of the biblical teachings regarding the uncleanliness of menstruating women. There have been few recent studies performed to prove or disprove the existence of menotoxin because a general lack of interest in the issue.
The use of phytopharmacology as a predictor of toxicity to humans was mainly restricted to the work of Dr. Macht and Dr. Macht's work was published in the journal Science. Currently, toxicity testing is mostly performed on animal subjects (both live animals and animal tissues), and the detection of individual toxins is performed with mass spectrometry.
While Macht used the term phytopharmacology to refer to the effects of drugs on plants, the term is now only used to refer to the pharmacological usages of plants as medicine.
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