THE ANTIBERIBERI VITAMINE 205 



on yeast and which we call vitamine D is likewise almost com- 

 pletely removed. We have not succeeded thus far in separating 

 D-vitamine from B-vitamine quantitatively. The animal experi- 

 ments performed thus far in which vitamine B preparations were 

 used have to be repeated, since such preparations contain at least 

 two vitamines B and D. While pigeons get along very well on 

 vitamine B alone, rats require vitamine D besides vitamine B. 

 Other animals are being investigated in this respect. 



Vitamine D is one of the substances necessary for the growth of 

 certain bacterias, as we have already pointed out. The isolation 

 has been attempted by Goy (53 la) who thought it was a non- 

 nitrogenous substance but the pure substance he isolated proved 

 to be inactive. The isolation also was attempted by Frankel and 

 Schwartz (53 Ib). 



We also feel that this subject needs further investigation. For 

 in every one of the cases investigated, we tested the activity after 

 the naturally occurring substances had been altered by the manipu- 

 lation undergone; we do not know what the action of the substances 

 in the natural state would have been. It may, for example, be 

 established later that vitamine B is a uniform substance, but that 

 parts of it may be utilized differently by yeast, pigeons and rats. 

 The analogy between the three modes of action, in relation to its 

 occurrence in Nature, is so far extended that we are perhaps justi- 

 fied in attributing to it a genetic relationship. The findings of 

 Funk and Dubin (I.e. 493), and others, as to specificity, also point 

 to this conception. 



SPECIFICITY OF ANTIBERIBERI VITAMINE 



A short time after the appearance of our chemical vitamine studies, 

 a number of publications appeared describing the curative action on 

 beriberi of various quite heterogeneous substances. These papers 

 had the regrettable effect that doubt arose as to the specificity of 

 vitamine influence. It almost seemed as though practically all 

 chemical groups, under certain conditions, could act as vitamine. 

 Although most of these results were either disproven or else aban- 

 doned by their respective authors, we see unfortunately that these 

 results gained acceptance in the literature. We must not forget 

 that the cure of acute beriberi symptoms may be accomplished 

 theoretically in two ways, first, by the addition of the specific vita- 



