MAKING VITAMIN C

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 230, 11 September 1934, Page 7

MAKING VITAMIN C

Discovery of Ascorbic Acid

British Official Wireless Service.

RUGBY, September 9.

In an address onvitamin C, or ascorbic acid, at the British Association, Professor Szent Gyormyi described how he became interested in the properties of the adrenal gland, near the kidneys, defects wherein caused the skins of human beings to go brown. After extracting a peculiar substance with the properties of vitamin C from the adrenal glands of an animal he pursued research at Cambridge and prepared the same substance from plants in larger quantities. In the United States and Hungary be discovered that perrika contained a largo quantity of this substance and chemical investigation at Birmingham and Zurich showed that its constitution was surprisingly simple. Brilliant researches by Professors Haworth, Rejchstein and others proved that it could be synthesised. Professor Haworth and his colleagues recently discovered a simple method enabling this vitamin to bo manufactured at a cost of a few pence an ounce and the process and patent rights were handed to the British Government’s Department of Scientific, and Industrial Research. The proceeds are to be devoted to the advance of science.

Vitamins are substances present in natural foods in very small quantities but having an important influence on nutrition. Their exact nature has not been discovered but it is known that there are at least six of them. Vitamin C is found in green vegetables, fruit juices, germinating pulses and cereals. If this vitamin is absent from the diet scurvy results. This disease was formerly very prevalent among armies in the field and sailors on long voyages. A feature of scurvy is that the akin becomes very dry and rough.