Picric acid converted it to acetylsalicylic acid, i.e., aspirin, to keep it from the Allies. See Great Phenol Plot. At the time, phenol was obtained from coal as a co-product of coke ovens and the manufacture of gas for gas lighting. Laclede Gas reports being asked to expand production of phenol (and toluene) to support the war effort. Both Monsanto and Dow Chemical undertook manufacture of synthetic phenol in 1915. Dow was the leading producer. Dow describes picric acid as “the main battlefield explosive used by the French. Large amounts [of phenol] also went to Japan, where it was made into picric
Moronic acid Moronic acid Moronic acid (3-oxoolean-18-en-28-oic acid) is a natural triterpene. Moronic acid can be extracted from "Rhus javanica", a sumac plant traditionally believed to hold medicinal applications. The molecule has also been extracted from Mistletoe ("Phoradendron reichenbachianum"). Bevirimat, a derivative of the related triterpenoid betulinic acid, is under development as an anti-HIV drug; however, moronic acid has shown better antiviral profiles "in vitro" than bevirimat. A particular moronic acid derivative showed potent anti-HIV activity with EC values of 0.0085 μM against NL4-3, 0.021 μM against PI-R (a multiple protease inhibitor resistant strain), and 0.13 μM against FHR-2 (an HIV strain