There are many stories about dracula figure. Some of them are myths, while others are a reality confirmed by historical documents. It is true that it really existed. They called him Vladislav Draculaalthough he was better known as Vlad Tepes (Vlad Tepes, in Romanian) for the very specific ending he gave to his enemies. A lot of research has been done on his figure, both historical and scientific. And it was one of the latter who reported particularly curious information: perhaps Dracula was vegetarian.
Research conducted by scientists from University of Cataniain Italy, the focus is on the analysis of three letters sent by Count Dracula to the governors of the city of Sibiu in Romania. They contained proteins of different origin, which made it possible to learn a lot of new information about Tepes. Perhaps the legend that she wept tears of blood was not so false, until perhaps she vegetarian or vegan.
Of course, as the authors of the investigation explained in statements IndependentMaybe I wasn’t a vegetarian. We are talking about a man who impaled his enemies and sat next to their dying bodies to have a quiet meal. Perhaps he cared little for the welfare of the animals. But it is true that he lived at a time when meat was scarce even for wealthy people like him. Or it could be due to his health issues or a matter of taste.
Real or fictional life of Count Dracula
Count Dracula, Vlad the Impaler is undoubtedly the protagonist of the most famous legend of vampires.
Today it is believed that both he and other characters who allegedly ate human bloodThey had porphyria. This disease causes severe anemia, which in the past could be treated with controlled blood intake, as well as photophobia, which made people afraid to be exposed to sunlight. It also causes the gums to recede, which gives the fangs a sharper appearance, similar to bat.
They also say that Dracula crying bloody tears. This condition, known as hemolacria, may be associated with certain eye conditions, but until recently, it was not known for sure whether it was part of a legend or had some kind of reality.
Now, thanks to three letters, one sent in 1457 and two in 1475., we can know much more information about him. Information about his health, his habits and his environment.
Letters that make you a vegetarian
A letter can give us a lot of information through its written contentbut also in other ways. Actually, protein analysis This type of document has been widely used in recent years for the reconstruction of specific historical moments.
In the case of Dracula, a scholar at the University of Catania was aware of the existence of three letters written on canvas in 1457 and 1475. The last two, dated the same year, are much better preserved, since this was already established in Romania – a protocol on the preservation of documents, according to which its deterioration was avoided. The first had to go through an intensive restoration process, but with great care to avoid contamination.
Therefore, the researchers felt that this could be a good starting point in order to learn more about Dracula. To do this, they used a technique consisting of a combination of extraction with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and mass spectrometry.
The EVA technique consists of using a film of this plastic-like material that is used as ion exchanger choose whites. This method is based on the fact that these molecules have positively or negatively charged functional groups, which can be specifically selected using counterions, such as a magnet, or by changing the pH of the medium.
In this case, several pieces of such resin are used, which are glued to the letter. But they can’t be random, so the first thing the researchers did was put the letters under a lamp. ultraviolet fluorescencewhich allows you to detect high concentrations of proteins by detecting three amino acids or the individual blocks of which they are composed: phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. After the detection of proteins, the EVA fragments were placed and, with subsequent processing, the proteins present on the maps were isolated.
Much more than proteins of human origin
Once candidate proteins were isolated, they were identified using another method called mass spectrometry. databaseto determine its origin and function.
Not only those of the three Dracula cards were analyzed. The current chart used as a control was also taken into account. If protein was found in all of them, it was assumed that it was not typical for Vlad’s environment.
Thus, several interesting data were discovered. Proteins of human origin originated primarily from skin, sweat glands, respiratory tract, blood and eyes. Proteins resulting from mutations associated with diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia, which causes everything from bronchitis and pneumonia to sinusitis or even infertility. As for the proteins in the retina, some of them have been found that could explain why Dracula was crying blood.
But there were not only human squirrels. Some of them were also associated with bacteria, viruses, fungi, insects or plants. For example, there were proteins from Mycoplasma penetrans, sexually transmitted bacteria associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, viruses such as flavivirusestransmitted by mosquitoes or from plants such as Arabidopsis Taliana.
Another curious fact is that fungal and insect proteins have been found associated with the close presence of very ripe fruit. This indicates that Dracula may have eaten a lot of fruit. But, in addition, no proteins associated with the use of food of animal origin. Therefore, fruits and vegetables may have formed the basis of their diet. Perhaps Dracula was a vegetarian. A vampire who only eats vegetables looks like a character from a cartoon or a children’s fairy tale. But in reality, this is the twisted story of one of the most frightening and ruthless characters of all time.
Source: Hiper Textual
