Vampires, Crazy Kings and Tetrapyrrolic Macrocycles

Posted August 18, 2005

Author: L. Eddie
Source: The May 30, 1993 issue of Investigator.

In 1984, New Scientist published an article by Lionel Milgrom, entitled “Vampires, plants and crazy kings” (26th April) discussing some aspects of tetrapyrrolic macrocycles. These substances, as you are no doubt totally unaware, are what make blood red and grass green.

The most important members of the pyrrolic family are the Porphyrins and the Chlorins. The Porphyrins, (so called because of their red/purple colouring, Greek — porphyrias = purple), are the primary components of haem in blood. The Chlorins, (Greek, chloros = green), are the basis of chlorophyll in green plants, and are essential components in the cycle of life.

Haem, an iron porphyrin, is the pyrrolic component of blood, and is the component which absorbs oxygen and carries it throughout the body. Without haem the cycle would decrease and the individual would die.

According to Milgrom, biological disorders, known as porphyrias caused by faulty tetrapyrrole metabolism, cause such things as severe light sensitivity, and even perhaps insanity.

In an article (New Scientist, 28/10/82) Professor David Dolphin of the British Columbia University, in a lecture discussed the links between porphyria and vampires.

Capitalizing on these claims, Milgrom incorrectly defines one rare form of porphyria as “iron-deficiency porphyria”. In fact there is no such terminology. Milgrom obviously coined the term himself.

He also makes other claims which are doubtful in the extreme. For instance he claimed that, “vampires, should they exist, could be suffering from an extremely rare form of this condition.” (p. 9)

Professor Dolphin considered that a rare form of porphyria, could explain the origins and persistence of the vampire and Dracula myths.

According to Milgrom, Dolphin’s thesis was that:-

“If the body cannot metabolize iron, it must take it in, in some readily digestible form. The best way is to have the iron already incorporated into a porphyrin, and the obvious source of iron porphyrins is blood — particularly another creatures.” (p. 13)

However, these claims are totally incorrect. While iron deficiency can influence certain enzymes in the bio-synthesis of haem, and is associated with zinc-proto-porphyrin, it does not constitute a porphyria, and is not characterized by the various cutaneous symptoms found In the porphyrias.

Furthermore, it would not be possible to obtain the iron enriched porphyrias by eating or drinking the blood or flesh of another animal, including a human.

Another claim by Milgrom, obviously attempting to prove that this disorder explains the vampire’s fear of daylight, that

“…our poor sufferer from “iron-deficiency porphyria”, must avoid daylight, because of the skin’s light sensitivity, and would have a highly developed taste for the red liquid.” (p. 13)

is also invalid, since evidence has shown that even people with severe photosensitivity can cope quite well with sunlight, they are normally encouraged to avoid the midday sun, but other than that, they cope quite well with daylight.

Q. “Why is a baby like a vampire?
A “Because it sleeps all day and sucks all night.”