Vitamins: Chemical Name, Sources, Deficieny and Discovery


Approximate Year of discovery Vitamin / Chemical Name Food source Deficiency Disease

1913

Vitamin A (Retinol, retinal) Cod liver oil Night blindness,

Keratomalacia

1910

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Rice bran Beriberi, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

1920

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Eggs Ariboflavinosis

1936

Vitamin B3 (Niacin, niacinamide) Liver Pellagra

1931

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) Liver Paresthesia

1934

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal) Rice bran Anemia, peripheral neuropathy.

1931

Vitamin B7 (Biotin) Liver Dermatitis, enteritis

1941

Vitamin B9 (Folic acid, folinic acid) Liver Deficiency during pregnancy is associated with birth defects, such as neural tube defects

1926

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin, hydroxycobalamin, methylcobalamin) Liver Megaloblastic anemia

1920

Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) Lemons Scurvy

1920

Vitamin D (Ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol) Cod liver oil Rickets and Osteomalacia

1922

Vitamin E (Tocopherols, tocotrienols) Wheat germ oil,

Cosmetics and liver

Sterility, Deficiency is very rare; mild hemolytic anemiain newborn infants

1929

Vitamin K (phylloquinone, menaquinones) Alfalfa Hemophilia, Bleeding diathesis