Malachite green metabolized into LMG. Only the cation MG is deeply colored, whereas the leuco and alcohol derivatives are not. This difference arises because only the cationic form has extended pi-delocalization, which allows the molecule to absorb visible light. The leuco form of malachite green was first prepared by Hermann Fischer in 1877 by condensing benzaldehyde and dimethylaniline in the molecular ratio 1:2 in the presence of sulfuric acid. Malachite green is traditionally used as a dye. Kilotonnes of MG and related triarylmethane dyes are produced annually for this purpose. MG is active against the oomycete "Saprolegnia", which infects fish eggs in
The Malachite Box by critics and enthusiastically received by readers, including the general populace and the more sophisticated Soviet intelligentsia. Bazhov turned into one of the most famous writers in the Soviet Union. Strangers would greet him on the streets. The critics agreed that "never has the labour of miners, stone-cutters, teemers been celebrate in such a way, neither in verses, nor in prose", and that Bazhov managed to show the essence of the professional skill of the miners. Mikhail Batin complimented its uniqueness, and novelty in the contents and in the form. Favourable reviews on "The Malachite Box" appeared in "Uralsky Rabochy"