History of Vitamins (Part II)
Around 1900, the idea had been widely accepted that human beings and animals require very small amounts of additional nutritional factors (“accessory growth factors”), the lack of which leads to disease.
In 1912, C. Funk coined the vitamin. Funk experimenting in the area of dietary disease, and worked on the isolation of the anti-beriberi factor. Because he assumed that this and the other curative factors contain nitrogen, that is, are mines, he named them “vitamins” (vital amines).
In 1929, C. Eijkman and F. G Hopkins shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries in the area of vitamins.
Eijkman’s discovery that polished rice leads to polyneuritis in birds and beriberi in human beings prepared the way for the isolation of thiamin.
Hopkins showed, by experimenting on rats, that milk contains substances which, in very small amounts, make growth possible. In this way he extended the insights of Lunin and confirmed them with more complete experiments.
Almost none of the vitamins is a single substance. Instead, there are whole families of close chemical relatives which, however may differ greatly in their biological activity.
The substances which we call vitamins must usually be converted within the living cell to their coenzyme or hormone forms in order to become biological active. Fore example vitamin D is hydroxylated and aquacobalamin is methylated or adenosylated.
Vitamin deficiencies were formerly one of the main causes of illness and death. Pellagra, scurvy and beriberi are best known vitamin deficiency diseases.
History of Vitamins (Part II)
Around 1900, the idea had been widely accepted that human beings and animals require very small amounts of additional nutritional factors (“accessory growth factors”), the lack of which leads to disease.
In 1912, C. Funk coined the vitamin. Funk experimenting in the area of dietary disease, and worked on the isolation of the anti-beriberi factor. Because he assumed that this and the other curative factors contain nitrogen, that is, are mines, he named them “vitamins” (vital amines).
In 1929, C. Eijkman and F. G Hopkins shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries in the area of vitamins.
Eijkman’s discovery that polished rice leads to polyneuritis in birds and beriberi in human beings prepared the way for the isolation of thiamin.Hopkins showed, by experimenting on rats, that milk contains substances which, in very small amounts, make growth possible. In this way he extended the insights of Lunin and confirmed them with more complete experiments.
Almost none of the vitamins is a single substance. Instead, there are whole families of close chemical relatives which, however may differ greatly in their biological activity.
The substances which we call vitamins must usually be converted within the living cell to their coenzyme or hormone forms in order to become biological active. Fore example vitamin D is hydroxylated and aquacobalamin is methylated or adenosylated.
Vitamin deficiencies were formerly one of the main causes of illness and death. Pellagra, scurvy and beriberi are best known vitamin deficiency diseases.
History of Vitamins (Part II)
