Nutrition

Nutrition: timeline of key events

Eijkman was a physician and physiologist who helped demonstrate that a poor diet contributes to beriberi, a disease of the peripheral nerves. He first noticed the link in 1897 when by mistake his laboratory chickens were fed a diet of polished, rather than unpolished, rice. Ill-health prevented Eijkman from pinpointing which missing dietary component was important. It was subsequently found that a deficiency of vitamin B1, thiamine, contributed to beriberi. Eijkman shared the Nobel Prize in 1929 for his work in this field. 1858-08-11T00:00:00+0000Mendel was a biochemist who helped discover vitamins A and B, lysine and tryptophan and their role in nutrition. Vitamin A was discovered in 1913 in butter fat. Diets deficient in vitamin A were shown to cause xerophthalmia, a condition in which the eye fails to produce tears. Water-soluble vitamin B was also found in milk in 1913.1872-02-05T00:00:00+0000Whipple was a physician and pathologist who in the 1920s launched studies into the influence of food on blood generation. In 1934 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery that raw liver can stimulate the bone marrow to produce new red blood corpuscles. He made this discovery while conducting experiments on dogs bled to reduce their blood volume. His work laid the foundation for the development of a special diet of liver to treat pernicious anaemia. 1878-08-28T00:00:00+0000Rose was a biochemist and nutritionist. He isolated the amino acid threonine in 1932 and demonstrated in rats that a diet that lacked the amino acid stunted their growth. By 1949 he had established that ten amino acids were vital to human health: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Based on this work he was appointed to the US Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council which drew up dietary recommendations. 1887-04-04T00:00:00+0000Willis was a haemotologist who discovered a nutritional factor in yeast, now known as folic acid, which prevents and cures macrocytic anaemia, a life-threatening condition that can develop in pregnancy. The disease is particularly prevalent in poor women in the tropics who have inadequate diets. Willis made her discovery while working in India. Noticing that wealthy women seemed to suffer less from the symptoms of anaemia than poor women, Willis hypothesised that the disease was linked to nutrition. She found that liver supplements and Marmite, a spread high in vitamin B made from brewer's yeast could combat anaemia in rats. This led her to successfully treating anaemia in pregnant Indian women by using liver supplements and Marmite. Her results were published in 1931. 1888-05-10T00:00:00+0000King was a biochemist who played a major role in the science of nutrition. In 1932 he discovered vitamin C when he separated it from the juice of lemons. His discovery laid the foundation for the demonstrating the power of vitamin C to prevent scurvy and malnutrition. King later showed the important functional role of vitamin B and made significant breakthroughs in research on fats and enzymes. 1896-10-22T00:00:00+0000Lipmann was a biochemist who shared the 1953 Nobel Prize for Medicine for the discovery of coenzyme A. He made the discovery in 1947 when examining pigeon liver extracts. Coenzyme A is one of the most important substances involved in cellular metabolism. It helps convert amino acids, fatty acids and haemoglobulins into energy. Lipmann directed the biochemistry research department at Massachusetts General Hospital and was professor of biological chemistry at Harvard Medical school.1899-06-12T00:00:00+0000Kosterlitz was a phamacologist whose initial his career focused on investigating carbohydrate metabolism. Forced to leave Germany in 1934 as a result of his Jewish background, Kosterlitz landed up in Aberdeen where he took up the study of the effects of proteins on liver function. His work in this area helped shaped the guidelines for the intake of proteins during pregnancy. Kosterlitz subsequently switched to investigating the pharmacology of opiates. He demonstrated that morphine inhibited the release of neurotransmitters and that various opiates could inhibit the release of acetylcholine. In the 1970s he discovered enkephalin, the first endogenous opioid.1903-04-27T00:00:00+0000Hopkins, an English biochemist. was awarded the Prize for his discovery of growth-stimulating vitamins and Eijkman, a Dutch physician and pathologist, for his discovery of the antinuetritic vitamin. Their work marked the beginning of research into vitamins. 1929-12-10T00:00:00+0000Eijkman was a Dutch physician and physiologist who helped demonstrate that a poor diet contributes to beriberi, a disease of the peripheral nerves. He first noticed the link in 1897 when by mistake his laboratory chickens were fed a diet of polished, rather than unpolished, rice. Ill-health prevented Eijkman from pinpointing which missing dietary component was important. It was subsequently found that a deficiency of vitamin B1, thiamine, contributed to beriberi. Eijkman shared the Nobel Prize in 1929 for his work in this field. 1930-11-05T00:00:00+0000Mendel was an American biochemist who helped discovered vitamins A and B, lysine and tryptophan and their role in nutrition. Vitamin A was discovered in 1913 in butter fat. Diets deficient in vitamin A was shown to cause xerophthalmia, a condition in which the eye fails to produce tears. Water-soluble vitamin B was also found in milk in 1913. 1935-12-09T00:00:00+0000Willis was a British haemotologist who discovered a nutritional factor in yeast, now known as folic acid, which prevents and cures macrocytic anaemia, a life-threatening condition that can develop in pregnancy. The disease is particularly prevalent in poor women in the tropics who have inadequate diets. Willis made her discovery while working in India. Noticing that wealthy women seemed to suffer less from the symptoms of anaemia than poor women, Willis hypothesised that the disease was linked to nutrition. She found that liver supplements and Marmite, a spread high in vitamin B made from brewer's yeast could combat anaemia in rats. This led her to successfully treating anaemia in pregnant Indian women by using liver supplements and Marmite. Her results were published in 1931.1964-04-16T00:00:00+0000Whipple was an American physician and pathologist who in the 1920s launched studies into the influence of food on blood generation. In 1934 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery that raw liver can stimulate the bone marrow to produce new red blood corpuscles. He made this discovery while conducting experiments on dogs bled to reduce their blood volume. His work laid the foundation for the development of a special diet of liver to treat pernicious anaemia. 1976-02-01T00:00:00+0000Rose was an American biochemist and nutrition. He isolated the amino acid threonine in 1932 and demonstrated in rats that a diet that lacked the amino acid stunted their growth. By 1949 he had established that ten amino acids were vital to human health: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Based on this work he was appointed to the US Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council which drew up dietary recommendations. 1985-09-25T00:00:00+0000Lipmann was an American biochemist who shared the 1953 Nobel Prize for Medicine for the discovery of coenzyme A. He made the discovery in 1947 when examining pigeon liver extracts. Coenzyme A is one of the most important substances involved in cellular metabolism. It helps convert amino acids, fatty acids and haemoglobulins into energy. Lipmann directed the biochemistry research department at Massachusetts General Hospital and was professor of biological chemistry at Harvard Medical school. 1986-07-24T00:00:00+0000King was an American biochemist who played a major role in the science of nutrition. In 1932 he discovered vitamin C when he separated it from the juice of lemons. His discovery laid the foundation for the demonstrating the power of vitamin C to prevent scurvy and malnutrition. King later showed the important functional role of vitamin B and made significant breakthroughs in research on fats and enzymes.1988-01-23T00:00:00+0000Kosterlitz was a German phamacologist whose initial his career focused on investigating carbohydrate metabolism. Forced to leave Germany in 1934 as a result of his Jewish background, Kosterlitz landed up in Aberdeen where he took up the study of the effects of proteins on liver function. His work in this area helped shaped the guidelines for the intake of proteins during pregnancy. Kosterlitz subsequently switched to investigating the pharmacology of opiates. He demonstrated that morphine inhibited the release of neurotransmitters and that various opiates could inhibit the release of acetylcholine. In the 1970s he discovered enkephalin, the first endogenous opioid1996-10-26T00:00:00+0000
Date Event People Places
11 Aug 1858Christiaan Eijkman was born in Nijkerk, the NetherlandsEijkmanUtrecht University
5 Feb 1872Lafayette Benedict Mendel was born in Dehli, NY, USMendelYale University
28 Aug 1878George H Whipple was born in Ashland, New Hampshire, USWhippleUniversity of Rochester
4 Apr 1887William C Rose was born Greenville, South Carolina, USARoseUniversity of Illinois
10 May 1888Lucy Willis was born in Sutton Coldfield, United KingdomWillisRoyal Free Hospital, Haffkine Institute
22 Oct 1896Charles G King was born in Entiat, Washington, USACharles KingUniversity of Pittsburgh
12 Jun 1899Fritz A Lipmann born in Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad), Germany (now Russia)LipmannCornell University, Harvard University
27 Apr 1903Hans Kosterlitz was born in Berlin, GermanyKosterlitzUniversity of Aberdeen
10 Dec 1929Frederick Hopkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Christiaan Eijkman for the discovery of vitaminsHopkins, EijkmanCambridge University, Javanese Medical School
5 Nov 1930Christiaan Eijkman diedEijkmanUtrecht University
9 Dec 1935Lafayette Benedict Mendel diedMendelYale University
16 Apr 1964Lucy Willis diedWillisRoyal Free Hospital, Haffkine Institute
1 Feb 1976George H Whipple diedWhippleUniversity of Rochester
25 Sep 1985William Cumming Rose diedRoseUniversity of Illinois
24 Jul 1986Fritz A Lipmann diedLipmannCornell University, Harvard University
23 Jan 1988Charles G King diedCharles KingUniversity of Pittsburgh
26 Oct 1996Hans Kosterlitz diedKosterlitzUniversity of Aberdeen

11 Aug 1858

Christiaan Eijkman was born in Nijkerk, the Netherlands

5 Feb 1872

Lafayette Benedict Mendel was born in Dehli, NY, US

28 Aug 1878

George H Whipple was born in Ashland, New Hampshire, US

4 Apr 1887

William C Rose was born Greenville, South Carolina, USA

10 May 1888

Lucy Willis was born in Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom

22 Oct 1896

Charles G King was born in Entiat, Washington, USA

12 Jun 1899

Fritz A Lipmann born in Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad), Germany (now Russia)

27 Apr 1903

Hans Kosterlitz was born in Berlin, Germany

10 Dec 1929

Frederick Hopkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Christiaan Eijkman for the discovery of vitamins

5 Nov 1930

Christiaan Eijkman died

9 Dec 1935

Lafayette Benedict Mendel died

16 Apr 1964

Lucy Willis died

1 Feb 1976

George H Whipple died

25 Sep 1985

William Cumming Rose died

24 Jul 1986

Fritz A Lipmann died

23 Jan 1988

Charles G King died

26 Oct 1996

Hans Kosterlitz died

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