Vitamins are more Funky than Casimir thought.

Abstract

In 2012 we celebrate the centenary of Dr Casimir Funk’s discovery of the 'vitamine'. Funk was the first to suggest the existence of a family of organic substances that are essential for life, which the world now takes for granted. He was thus the godfather of the vitamin movement. Funk conceived the concept of “vital amines”; essential nutrients with a specific action, requiring only minute amount with the power to cure a specific disease. As Casimir1 phrased it: “We will speak of beriberi and scurvy vitamine, which means a substance preventing that special disease”. A century later, although we may find limitations in Casimir’s theory, this does not detract from his genius, or his influence on medical thinking and his role in founding the vitamin industry. The Life of Casimir Funk The upheaval of two World Wars combined with his Polish Jewish ancestry2, resulted in Casimir Funk’s career spanning the United States and five different European countries. Funk (1884-1967) was born in Warsaw, the son of a Polish physician3. Although his parents aspired for him to become a doctor, Funk instead earned a doctorate of chemistry in Switzerland in 1904. He went on to work in the new field of biochemistry at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, continuing his research in Berlin and London. He was first introduced to the concept that ingestion of polished rice could result in beriberi by Dr. Brandon of Malaya. Funk proceeded to isolate the antineuritic factor of vitamins B1 and B3. Figure 1 Dr Casimir Funk With the outbreak of World War I, Funk immigrated to the United States, where he subsequently developed vitamin formulas including OSCODAL, a vitamin A and D concentrate. The concentrate was the first vitamin preparation to be accepted by the American Medical Association as an ethical product. Funk returned to Warsaw in 1923, but with the outbreak of World War II, he was forced to flee to the United States. In the United States, he worked with pharmaceutical companies and the US Vitamin Corporation. Funk contributed to many facets of biomedical research and the pharmaceutical industry through 140 technical papers, as well as 30 reviews and articles. 3