What are vitamins, really? I mean molecularly, physically, how do they differ, who discovered they exist and how, etc.
In: Biology
Vitamins are organic molecules(large, complex molecules made primarily up of hydrogen and carbon, along with other elements frequently being included such as oxygen and nitrogen, as well as rarer elements. Vitamin B12 for instance has the element cobalt in it), that the human body needs in small quantities to properly function but cannot produce from basic elements or inorganic compounds, so you need to consume them from other sources, like food. I say human because what molecules a body can produce varies between animals. Not many other animals need Vitamin C for instance, but humans can’t make it themselves.
Molecular Structure and physical and chemical properties, as well as their function, widely vary between vitamins. Vitamin C for instance is a fairly simple molecule and is important to immune system function, while Vitamin B12 is super complex and large and is critical to maintaining your nervous system and your blood cells.
As for who discovered them, that differs for each of these compounds at different times in history, so you will have to look those up, but people have known for a long time in some capacity as common knowledge not eating certain foods would caused illnesses with certain symptoms, which were deficiencies. For example before the ability to fortify plant foods with B12 and to synthesize B12 in a lab, not eating enough meat or dairy would eventually lead to problems with the nerves, loss of bowel control, anemia, and eventually death. Meanwhile a lack of Vitamin C, which is very high in most fruits but low in most vegetable and animal foods, can lead to a weakened immune system, or scurvy in severe cases.
Vitamin pills/capsules contain large amounts of these vitamins to supplement a diet that is lacking in them.
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