Artturi Ilmari Virtanen
Virtanen, Artturi Ilmari (1895-1973) was a Finnish biochemist whose study of plant decay led to the discovery of a method of preserving cattle feed. Virtanen also discovered many nutritionally important components of plants. He was awarded the 1945 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work.
Virtanen was born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1895. He studied biology, chemistry, and physics at the University of Helsinki, where he received a master's degree in 1916 and a doctorate (D.Sc.) in 1919. He did postgraduate work in physical chemistry in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1920. He studied bacteriology in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1921 and enzymology in 1923. From 1921 to 1931, he served as laboratory director of the Finnish Cooperative Dairies Association in Valio. In 1931, he was appointed director of the Biochemical Research Institute in Helsinki and also became a professor of biochemistry at the Finland Institute of Technology. In 1939, he was appointed professor of biochemistry at the University of Helsinki.
Virtanen's early research on the fermentation of some biologically important acids showed that enzymes were necessary for bacterial fermentation. Virtanen investigated the relation between the protein content and the enzymatic activity of cells. He discovered that after fodder was cut and stored, bacterial decay caused the loss of up to one-half of its nutrients. He found that a solution of dilute hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, sprayed on the fodder, slowed decay and preserved nutrients without harming test cattle or their milk. His AIV method was first used in Finland in 1929, and the improved feed resulted in better-quality milk production year-round.
Virtanen's other research included studies of how plants use nitrogen and showed how leghe-moglobin, a red pigment in plant cells, transports nitrogen. Virtanen died in 1973 in Helsinki.