26 THE VITAMINES 



Grafe (30) who studied the protein-sparing action of ammonium 

 salts. The same thing applies to the work of many others on animal 

 nutrition. 



One of the last opponents of the vitamine theory was the late 

 Rohmann (31 and I.e. 24). He expressed the idea that the existence 

 of the vitamines was seized upon only because certain investigators 

 had had poor results with their experimental animals. The subject 

 was treated by Rohmann in a rather illogical manner, since in the 

 end he admitted the existence of the vitamines, under a different 

 name. His statements, in particular, have been discussed by so 

 many authors that we shall not consider them further here. 



In spite of the great powers of observation possessed by such 

 investigators as Bunge and Hopkins, the conception of the vitamine 

 theory could never have attained its present importance, if a powerful 

 impulse had not been received from clinical sources. The findings 

 mentioned above have not been utilized in human pathology, since 

 most clinicians are not very much disposed to apply the results of 

 animal experiments to man. However, great interest in vitamines 

 was justifiably aroused when the applicability of the results to human 

 pathology and physiology was demonstrated. For a long time, long: 

 before the publication of the laboratory findings, the literature con- 

 tained views upon the etiology of scurvy, rickets and pellagra which 

 appeared to be very nearly correct. The conditions surrounding 

 these diseases were, however, too complicated to be suitable for a 

 direct experimental research. On the other hand, as regards beriberi, 

 the circumstances were entirely different. Here we had to deal with 

 a problem the etiology of which was comparatively simple, for the 

 disease could be brought logically into causal relationship with the 

 continued consumption of rice. Nevertheless, many years of effort 

 were necessary for these conceptions to gain a foothold in the litera- 

 ture. When the first edition of this book was being written in 1913, 

 it was still necessary for us to wage a hard fight in support of our 

 contention. Such is not the case at present, for the characterization 

 of beriberi as an avitaminosis has met with general recognition. At 

 the end of this chapter, we shall discuss the history of beriberi 

 research, since it may logically serve as an introduction to the study 

 of the vitamines. 



We shall begin here with a discussion of scurvy, although this 

 disease really did not contribute any direct stimulus to vitamine 



