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 to other issues, such as beauty and ugliness, life and death, order and chaos, eroticism, the relationship of people with nature and the Mountain, the mysterious in general, the place of the person in the world. Lidiya Slobozhaninova summarizes that some parts of "The Malachite Box" "become outdated, but others gain new meaning". The stories from the collection inspired numerous adaptations, including films, radio and stage adaptations. The Soviet poet Demyan Bedny was so impressed with the tales that he decided to adapt them into poetry. He began the work on 27 June 1939 and adapted the 14 original stories