Salimuzzaman Siddiqui

Pioneering research Siddiqui's first breakthrough in research came when he successfully isolated an antiarrhythmic agent in 1931 from the roots of Rauvolfia serpentina. He named the newly discovered chemical compound as Ajmaline, after his mentor Hakim Ajmal Khan who was one of the illustrious practitioners of Unani system of medicine in South Asia.

Discoveries from Neem

Siddiqui was the first scientist to bring the anthelmintic, antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral constituents of the Neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. In 1942, he extracted three bitter compounds from neem oil, which he named as nimbin, nimbinin, and nimbidin respectively. The process involved extracting the water-insoluble components with ether, petrol ether, ethyl acetate and dilute alcohol. The provisional naming was nimbin (sulphur-free crystalline product with melting point at 205 °C, empirical composition C7H10O2), nimbinin (with similar principle, melting at 192 °C), and nimbidin (cream-coloured containing amorphous sulphur, melting at 90–100 °C). Siddiqui identified nimbidin as the main active antibacterial ingredient, and the highest yielding bitter component in the neem oil. These compounds are stable and found in substantial quantities in the Neem. They also serve as natural insecticides.

In acknowledgement of these revolutionary discoveries, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1946. and other plants. He had more than 50 chemical compounds patented in his name In 1956, when Government of Pakistan established Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) as an atomic research agency, Siddiqui was designated as its technical member.

In recognition of his scientific leadership, Frankfurt University granted him the degree of D.Med. Honoris causa in 1958. Also in 1958, the Government of Pakistan awarded him with Tamgha-e-Pakistan. In 1960, he became the President of Pan-Indian Ocean Science Association. The same year, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1962, he was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for distinguished merit in the fields of science and medicine. His tireless efforts for the promotion of science and technology earned him Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 1980. In 1983, he played a major role in the establishment of the Third World Academy of Sciences and became its Founding Fellow. He remained the director of the Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry until 1990. Later on, he continued research in his personal laboratory. He published over 400 research papers and was granted 50 patents. In the same year, the street leading to PCSIR Laboratories Complex in Karachi was named as Shahrah-e-Dr. Salim-uz-Zaman Siddiqui. Siddiqui was also remembered by his students and colleagues, many of whom continued to dedicate their international research and publications to his memory. In 2002, a research article was published in the journal Tetrahedron in which, authors Faizi and Naz dedicated their break-through research to the memory of Siddiqui, their mentor.

Awards and honours Siddiqui was a founder-member of the Indian and Pakistan Academies of Sciences, and later a founder member of the international body the Third World Academy of Sciences. The following are the honours he received, in reverse chronological order: Hilal-e-Imtiaz, (Crescent of Excellence) 1980 by the Government of Pakistan President of Pakistan's Pride of Performance Medal, 1966 Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 1962 (Star of Excellence) by the Government of Pakistan Fellow of the Royal Society, 1961 President, Pan-Indian Ocean Science Association, 1960 Tamgha-e-Pakistan, 1958 (Medal of Pakistan) D. Med. Honoris causa from the Frankfurt University, 1958 Foundation Fellow, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, 1953 Order of the British Empire in 1946