The synthetic, marketed as Synthalin, proved less toxic and more potent than prior plant products.
The folk remedy French lilac (Galega officinalis), was used to treat the symptoms of diabetes, and towards the end of the nineteenth century it was discovered to contain guanidine.
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In 1926, E. Frank, working in Oskar Minkowski's clinic in Wroclaw performed a clinical trial on one of these agents.
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After it was discovered that trypanosomes require a plentiful supply of glucose in order to reproduce, researchers tested Synthalin and related compounds to see if they could be effective treatments.