Discovery of Vitamin A

In ancient Greece, Hippocrates gave liver as a treatment for night blindness without realizing that he was using a good source of vitamin A.

Research by Elmer V. McCollum and M. Davis led to the discovery of vitamin A in 1914. They found a fat-soluble growth factor in butter and egg yolk. Thomas Osborne and Lafayette Mendel confirmed the observations.

In 1916, McCollum introduced the term ‘fat soluble A’ to distinguish it from other nutritional factors named ‘water soluble B’.

In 1919, Harry Steenbock hypothesized that vitamin A was present in the yellow pigment (carotene) in colored plants such as carrots, sweet potatoes and corn.

Its chemical structure was described by Paul Karrer in 1931. In 1932 an English physician successfully treated children ill with measles with vitamin A. In 1937, J. R. Edisbury, R. A. Morton and G. W Simpkins isolated vitamin A2 from liver of freshwater fishes.

Council on Foods, American Medical Association recommended the fortification of margarine with vitamin A in 1939.
Discovery of Vitamin A