Vitamin research

The first commercial synthesis of a vitamin occurred ia 1933 when the Reichsteia approach was employed to manufacture vitamin C (6). AH 13 vitamins ate available ia commercial quantities, and their biological functions have largely been estabUshed (7). A Hst of Nobel prize winners associated with vitamin research is given ia Table 2. 

All comments, criticisms, and suggestions will be welcomed by the authors. Address any comments to E.T. Denisov, Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Chernogolovka, Moscow Region, 142432, Russia. E-mail edenisov icp.ac.ru and to I.B. Afanas ev, Vitamin Research Institute, Moscow 117820, Russia. E-mail iafan aha.ru... 

At present, Professor Afanas ev is head of the laboratory at the Vitamin Research Institute in Moscow. 

Earlier, I mentioned that Casimir Funk had raised the issue of priority in the discovery of the vitamins. Hopkins did not enter into the debate at the time but he did devote a significant part of his Nobel Address to Funk and his contributions to the vitamin hypothesis. With respect to the other principals involved in the early episodes of vitamin research, it is appropriate to see what Hopkins said about them in Stockholm on that December day in 1929- His comments afford one more illustration of both the clarity and confusion that dominated his 1912 paper. 

See also research, medical biochemical individuality and, 206-207 metabolism, 203 variations, exceptions and, 202 vision, 202-203 vitamin research and, 204-205 scopolamine, 228 scurvy, 167-168 self-esteem, genetics and, 16 self-selection of foods, 180 Selye, Hans, 230 senile dementia, 34-35, 227, 230 sensory physiology and psychology, 205 serotonin, 236 serum amylase, 80-81 serum lipase, 81 serum phenol sulfatase, 81 sex behavior, 100, 104-105 psychiatry and, 231 sex differences... 

Bruno EJ, Ziegenfuss TN. Water-soluble vitamins research update. Curr Sports Med Rep 2005 4(4) 207-13. 

Folic acid is one of the B vitamins. Research has established that consuming about 800 micrograms by way of foods and supplements, along with vitamins B6 and B12, reduces levels of the amino acid homocysteine, another risk factor for heart disease. Now recent... 

Nutrition. Fats and oils are recognized as important nutrients for both humans and animals because they provide a concentrated source of energy, contain essential fatty acids, and serve as carriers for fat-soluble vitamins. Research studies have also indicated a relationship between saturated fats, cholesterol, and trans-isomers and the incidence of coronary heart disease. In many cases, shortening functionality can be maintained with formulations limiting cholesterol, the identified saturated fatty acids, and tran -isomers. Shortening formulation can also aid in reductions of fat consumption by development of more effective products to reduce the levels required to produce the desired functionality and finished product quality. 

John W. Scott, Ph.D. Director, Vitamins Research and Development, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., Nutley, Nev/ Jersey... 

B3. B hidi, Z. G., Weight increase in the rat due to thiamine disulfide activation by ascorbic acid. Internat. Rev. Vitamin Research 80, 305-322 (1960). 

At that time, little more than ten years had passed since the first vitamins were isolated in a pure state vitamin C ( hcxuronic acid ) was first obtained pure in 1928, vitamin Bi in 1931. It was in 1931 also that the constitution of a vitamin, that of vitamin A, was established for the first time. The world forgets quickly, and today hardly anyone remembers that until these discoveries were made the view was widely held that the vitamins were not definite chemical substances, but special forms of energy. It was only through the rapid expansion of the new science of vitamin research in the 1920 s and 1930 s that the myth originally attached to the word vitamin was finally destroyed. 

In Vitamins and Hormones, vitamin research has thus found a medium which has enabled its results to be made known in all parts of the world and which, at the same time, has provided the stimulus for new investigations. The new volume that has been added to the series each year has made important contributions to work in this field. Vitamin research owes a great debt to this brilliantly edited publication. We hope, therefore, that in the coming years. Vitamins and Hormones will continue to appear in the same attractive form as in the past twenty years, and will find an undiminished readership. 

Christiaan Eijkman (1858-1930) recognised in beriberi an "avitaminosis", and thereby laid the foundation stone of vitamin research. 

Table 3.2 Milestones of vitamin research from recognition to Nobel Prize...

The work of Bliss (1951) on the use of statistical methods in vitamin research is a comprehensive publication well worth the detailed attention of food technologists interested in this type of analysis. Many designs are discussed in detail, accompanied by computation directions and worked examples of the methods. 

Bliss, C. I. 1951. Statistical methods in vitamin research. In Vitamin Methods (P. Gyorgy, ed.). Academic Press, New York, Vol. 2, 445. 

Through these investigations the idea that microorganisms and animals share many vitamins in common became gradually accepted and the microbial bioassay system of vitamins became an essential tool in vitamin research. We will appreciate the significance of the method in the following sections. 

Hopkins, F.G., 1929. Nobel lecture the earlier history of vitamin research. Available at http //nobelprize.org/nobel prizes/medicine/laureates/1929/ hopkins-lecture.html. Accessed 17 June 2011. 

Luyken R (ed.) (1990) Polyneuritis in Chickens, or the Origin of Vitamin Research [First English edition of papers by Christian Eijkman published 1890-1896]. Basle Roche. 

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