Tag: Discovery

The word "vitamin" was officially coined in 1912 by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk, stemming from a belief that these vital substances were all a specific type of chemical called an amine. This name, a combination of 'vital' and 'amine', reflected the perception that these compounds were both essential for life and contained a nitrogen-based amine group.

The near-eradication of rickets in developed nations is a direct result of the discovery of vitamin D and subsequent food fortification efforts. Yet, the question of who invented vitamin D is not attributable to a single person, but rather a collective scientific effort that unfolded across several decades and countries.

Over 80% of children in industrialized cities like Boston suffered from rickets around 1900, a condition that drove the critical research leading to the discovery of vitamin D3. This exploration reveals the specific timeline and the brilliant minds who pinpointed the precise chemical structure of this vital nutrient.