Uncovering the Evidence: Which is the Earliest Known Vitamin?
                                
                                
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                                    5 min read                                
                            
                                In the late 1890s, the Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman observed that chickens fed polished rice developed a paralytic condition similar to beriberi, which could be cured with unpolished rice, ultimately leading to the discovery of the earliest known vitamin. This breakthrough marked a pivotal moment in nutritional science.