150 years Alfred Wöhlk

Alfred Wöhlk was a Danish chemist and pharmacist who lived from 1868 to 1949. On Juli 25, 2018, he would be 150 years old. With his historical detection reaction from 1904, the lactose content of dairy products can be visualized. This is useful because many people are lactose intolerant and avoid dairy products. Countless pharmacy students, but also physicians, laboratory assistants, and recently also chemistry teachers know the Wöhlk test. Despite many efforts, the reaction mechanism is still unknown. Nevertheless, the experiment is colorful, meaningful, and easy to implement.