At the beginning of the 20th century, the medical world was convinced that all diseases were caused by infections, bacteria or dangerous toxins. The prevailing dogma was that only four elements were needed for a full human existence: proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals. All this changed thanks to a young and ambitious Polish scientist – Kazimir Funk (Kazimież Funk).
The Enigma of Beriberi
Working at the prestigious London Institute “Lister“, Funk set out to solve the mystery surrounding the disease beriberi, which at that time was ravaging entire regions of Asia. Previous experiments had shown that people and birds fed on peeled (polished) white rice developed severe paralysis, but recovered if they switched to brown rice.
By conducting a series of precise experiments, Funk was able to isolate microscopic “traces“ from rice husks of a chemical substance that magically cures sick pigeons.
„Amines of life“
The scientist found that this substance contains a nitrogen group (amine) and is absolutely indispensable for survival. It combines the Latin word for life (vita) with the chemical name amine, creating the term „vitamin“.
An interesting historical fact is that the management of the „Lister“ Institute initially refused to allow Funk to use the word „vitamin“ in his scientific publication in 1911, considering it too bold. A year later, in 1912, the term officially debuted on the pages of the magazine Journal of State Medicine.
A brilliant mistake
Although science later proved that not all vitamins contain amines (which is why the letter „e“ was eventually dropped from the English spelling vitamine -> vitamin), Funk's hypothesis is recognized as a genius breakthrough. He was the first to state that insidious diseases such as scurvy, rickets and pellagra were not infections, but the result of acute deficiency of specific micronutrients in food.
Cazimir Funk was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize, but never received it. Nevertheless, his legacy remains eternal – he created a completely new scientific field (vitaminology) and taught humanity to view diet as the main medicine for long life.
Sources: PubMed / National Library of Medicine