Discovery of Vitamins A and B
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
In 1913 University of Wisconsin biochemist Elmer V. McCollum and associates used rats to conduct nutritional studies that led to the discovery of vitamin A in butterfat and cod liver oil. In 1917 his group discovered vitamin B complex in milk whey. Scientists first named these "fat-soluble factor A" and "water-soluble factor B." Incorporating C. Funk's term of "vital amine," McCollum later named them "vitamine" A and "vitamine" B. This opened the field of nutrition for the identification of all the vitamins, a search completed in the 1940s.
This marker is made possible by a grant from the UW Foundation
Marker can be reached from the intersection of Babcock Drive and University Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
