In that year Szent-Gyorgyi isolated hexuronic acid as the factor that prevented browning of decaying fruit. In 1932 it was proved to be the agent which prevents scurvy.
Written records dating back to ancient Egypt containing the earliest reports of scurvy, a dreaded human disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Scurvy has remained constant threat to humans, causing death and misery whenever dietary sources of vitamin C became scarce.
Aristotle in 450 BC described the symptoms of scurvy, which include muscle weakness, lethargy, extreme fatigue, joint pains, bleeding gums, depression and eventually death.
During the 17th and early 18th centuries, many cures for scurvy were suggested and there was some evidence that fresh fruit could help.
In 1747, Dr. James Lind discovered that adding citrus fruit to the diet will helped prevent scurvy.
The popularity do vitamin C as one of the most widely used and highly valued vitamin began when Dr. Linus Pauling proposed in 1970 that the daily intake of vitamin C needs to be much higher than the official recommended daily intake of 60mg per day. He published his book in vitamin C: Vitamin C and the Common Cold.
Discovery of vitamin C
