106 PHARMACEUTICAL BOTANY 
germ and to a lesser extent in whole rice, rye, wheat, barley, 
milk, eggs and a number of vegetables and fruits. 
Viramin Bs or G, sometimes called the Anti-pellagric factor 
of the Vitamin B complex, prevents pellagra, a disease charac- 
terized by soreness of the mouth and tongue, diarrhea, skin 
eruptions and disturbances of digestion and mentality. It is 
water-soluble and little affected by heat. It occurs in yeast, in 
spinach, kale and other green vegetables, in potato, banana, 
fresh carrots, cabbage, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, wheat bran, 
meat, etc. 
Viramins Bs, Bu, and B; are all growth-promoting principles 
which have been found to occur in yeast. They are water- 
soluble and thermolabile. 
Viramin C or Antiscorbutic Vitamin is the factor which prevents 
scurvy. It is water-soluble and destroyed by heat. It has been 
found to be ascorbic (cevitamic) acid, CsHsO¢. and has been 
made synthetically. This vitamin is required for the proper 
metabolism of bones and the formation and nutrition of teeth. 
It occurs abundantly in the juice of oranges, lemons and limes, 
in lettuce, spinach, cabbage and tomatoes and to a less extent 
in pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, peach, beans, corn, and 
some other fruits and vegetables. 
Vitamin D or Anti-rhachitic Vitamin is essential for the preven- 
tion of rickets, since it regulates the absorption, retention and 
deposition of calcium and phosphorous by the bones and teeth. 
It has been found to be irradiated ergosterol. It is formed in 
animals by the action of ultra-violet light upon cholesterol — 
present in the skin. This vitamin has not been found in plants. 
It is soluble in oil and relatively stable to heat. It occurs 
abundantly in cod-liver and halibut liver oils and in smaller 
amounts in salmon, egg-yolk, oysters, clams, etc. The U.S.P. 
unit employed in the biological standardization for vitamin D 
is that amount of vitamin contained in 145 of a gram of the 
Reference Oil taken as a standard. 
Vitamin E or Anti-sterility Vitamin is a fat-soluble principle 
which has been found essential for the normal maturation of 
the germ cells of the male animal and for the maintenance of 
the placenta in the female. Its most abundant source is wheat 
