_Vitamine B_ (_Funk's vitamine_)
Water-soluble
Antineuritic
Present in protein-free milk, ordinary lactose, yeast and rice polishings
[Illustration: FIG. 2. COMPOSITE CHART OF OSBORNE AND MENDEL PUBLICATIONS
These four charts all show the power of sources of the A vitamine to bring
about recovery after failure on diets lacking that vitamine.
I (from _Journ. Biol. Chem._, 1913-14, xvi, 423). In this group the
diet consisted of the following percents: Protein, 18; starch, 26; protein
free milk, 28; lard, 28. In the part of the periods marked butter, 18 per
cent of butter was substituted for an equal amount of lard.
II (from _Jour. Biol. Chem._, 1913, xv, 311). Shows recovery on
addition of butter fat to a diet containing all the nutrients and
artificial protein free milk. These diets contained the following
percents: Protein, 18; lactose, 23.8; starch, 26; milk salts, 4.2; total
fats, 28.
III (from _Journ. Biol. Chem._, 1915, xx, 379). These show the effect
of various sources of vitamine A such as egg fat, butter fat and
oleomargarine. The broken line parts show the failure of laboratory
prepared lard to better the commercial lard of the basal diet and the
crossed lines the immediate effect when a true source of vitamine A was
added. Basal diet: Protein, 18, protein free milk, 28; starch, 24-29;
lard, 7-28; other fats, 0-18.
IV (from _Journ. Biol. Chem._, 1913-14, xvii, 401). This chart shows
the failure of almond oil as a source of vitamine A and the prompt
recovery when butter fat or cod-liver oil was used. Basal diet: Edestin,
18; starch, 28; protein free milk, 28; lard, 8; almond oil _or_
butter fat or cod-liver oil, 18.]
With these points cleared up each nutrition investigator returned to an
analysis of his food mixtures and proceeded to the location in sources of
the various factors. The years 1912-1918 are mainly contributory to
further knowledge of the properties of these two vitamines, their
reactions, source, behavior, etc. In 1912, however, Holst and Fröhlich
began a study of scurvy that was to culminate later by adding to the list
a new member of the family, viz., vitamine "C."
The disease of scurvy and its prevention by use of orange juice potatoes,
etc., was a well known phenomenon and to the curative powers of lime juice
we owe the name "lime-juicers" as a synonym for the British merchant
marine.
Following his discovery of vitamine as the preventative substance to beri-
beri, Funk had outlined a theory of "avitaminoses" as the responsible
cause of several other types of diseases, including scurvy, rickets,
pellagra, and beri-beri. In other words, he suggested that the etiology of
these diseases would be found to lie in the lack of the vitamine factors.
His views at the time were largely hypothetical since the only one of his
avitaminose then demonstrated was beri-beri, but the hypothesis attracted
attention and developed a new method of study as it had in matters of
normal nutrition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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