Dimitar Paskov

Dimitar Paskov who was born in 1914 was a self-educated chemist. His main discovery was  Nivalin (Galantamine). The original Phyto preparation is an extract of the alkaloid from bulbs of common snowdrop. Galantamine hydrobromide (Nivalin) has formula C17H21NO3.HBr and molecular weight 386.3. Nivalin is especially used in neurology in the treatment of poliomyelitis. It is also used successfully for the treatment of progressive muscular dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, myopathies etc. The discovery of the properties of the snowdrop (nivalin) happened by chance when the doctor noticed an improvement in a girl suffering from poliomyelitis, who unwittingly drank the water from a cup of snowdrops, which her parents had left on the table next to her bed. Professor Paskov is the author of more than 120 works in the field of pharmacology, as well as a textbook for students and physicians.