INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTHETIC 

 VITAMINS ^ 



By Randolph T. Majok 

 Merck & Co., Inc., Railway, N. J. 



[With 1 plate] 



Much is written, both scientific and unscientific, in the papers and 

 magazines of this country today about vitamins. In spite of this it 

 might be well to define the word "vitamin" first. In the large un- 

 abridged dictionary in the writer's home, on the page where the word 

 "vitamin" should be, may be found such w^ords as "visitatorial," 

 "vitaceae," "vitellarian," "vitelin," and "vitex" — but no word "vita- 

 min." Later it was found listed in a separate place among new 

 words. The front page of the dictionary shows that it was published 

 in 1930. This observation gives some concept of the speed with 

 which vitamins have become common knowledge. 



As recently as 2 years ago, some people did not know the nature of 

 vitamins. The purchasing agent of a large company which has a fine 

 scientific laboratory visited us at that time. The discussion turned 

 to vitamins. He said, "I am interested in vitamins, but I suppose no 

 one has ever actually seen and handled a vitamin. Vitamins are 

 something like electricity, aren't they?" He w^as taken into one of 

 the laboratories and shown a bottle full of crystalline vitamin Bi. 

 He was amazed. 



For the purpose of this discussion vitamins might be defined as 

 organic substances normally present in minute quantities in certain 

 foodstuffs, the absence of which in the diet leads to well-defined mor- 

 bid states. 



The older so-called natural vitamins, vitamins A and D, will be 

 mentioned very briefly. As you know, vitamins A and D, found in 

 fish liver oils, are used in the treatment of rickets, especially in chil- 

 dren and particularly during the winter^ for the development of 

 proper teeth, for the treatment of night-blindness, and for building 

 up resistance to infection. Tablets and capsules of concentrates of 



1 rresented at a meeting of the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry, 

 March 27, 1942. Reprinted by permission from Chemical and Engineering News, vol. 20, 

 April 25, 1942. 



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