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Whose Research Discovered Vitamins?
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Quick Answer
Casimir Funk coined the term "vitamine" in 1912 and identified the first vitamins.
The Full Story
Polish-American biochemist Casimir Funk coined the term "vitamine" (vital + amine) in 1912 while researching the substance in rice husks that prevented beriberi. Earlier, Christiaan Eijkman had shown in the 1890s that polished rice caused beriberi in chickens — work that won him a Nobel Prize. Frederick Gowland Hopkins demonstrated that "accessory food factors" were essential for health, sharing the 1929 Nobel with Eijkman. The "e" was later dropped from "vitamine" when it was found that not all vitamins are amines.
Key Facts
1.Funk isolated what he believed was the anti-beriberi factor (later identified as vitamin B1/thiamine).
2.Scurvy, caused by vitamin C deficiency, killed an estimated 2 million sailors between 1500 and 1800.
3.There are 13 essential vitamins recognised in human nutrition.
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"The Discovery of Vitamins — How Funk Changed Nutrition"