452 NIACIN 



I. Nomenclature and Formulas 



ROBERT S. HARRIS 



Accepted names: Niacin, niacinamide (United States) 



Nicotinic acid, nicotinic acid amide (British) 

 Obsolete names: Vitamin PP 



PP factor 



Pellagra preventive factor 



Pellagramine 



Niamid 

 Empirical formulas: Niacin: CeHsOaN 



Niacinamide: C6H6ON2 

 Chemical names: Niacin: pyridine-3-carboxylic acid 



Niacinamide: pyridine-3-carboxylic acid amide 

 Structural formulas : 



II. Chemistry 



J. M. HUNDLEY 



A. ISOLATION 



Nicotinic acid, so named because it was first discovered as an oxidation 

 product of nicotine, was first isolated from natural materials by Funk in 

 1911.^ Funk thought, at first, that the substance which he obtained from 

 yeast and rice polishings was the pigeon beriberi factor. Almost simultane- 

 ously Suzuki and associates,^ who also were searching for the antiberiberi 

 vitamin, isolated nicotinic acid from rice. Considerably later Vickery* iso- 



1 C. Funk, J. Physiol. 43, 395 (1911) [C. .4.6, 1923 (1912)]; J. Physiol. 46, 173 (1913); 

 Brit. Med. J. I, 814 (1913). 



2 U. Suzuki, T. Shimamura, and S. Odake, Biochem. Z. 43, 89 (1912) ; U. Suzuki and 

 S. Matsunaga, J. Agr. Tokyo Imp. Univ. 5, 59 (1912). 



» H. B. Vickery, /. Biol. Chem. 68, 585 (1926). 



