Ramón y Cajal as an Analytical Chemist of Bottled Water? Use (and Misuse) of the Great Savant’s Repute by the Industry

Abstract

The name of the eminent neurohistologist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) was occasionally mentioned in commercial labels by the Spanish industry advertising mineral waters from natural spring sources and their medical benefits. Concomitantly with his landmark neuroanatomical research, Cajal had served as director of the Alfonso XIII National Institute of Hygiene. In that capacity, his name had to be included in certificates as a mere bureaucratic formality. Cajal had an early interest in bacteriology, and introduced a pioneering chemical vaccine against cholera during the 1885 epidemic in Spain. However, in a letter to the Madrid press, he vehemently denied any involvement with actual chemical analyses or commercial promotion of products such as bottled water, medicinal wines, disinfectants, and even toothpaste. In this episode, we realize that Cajal’s view was absolutely contrary to the impression one might have gathered on the basis of the commercial documents alone.