Why Vitamin A was called "Vitamin A"

Vitamin A was called "Vitamin A" because it was the first vitamin to be discovered, and scientists used the alphabetical naming convention to classify newly identified vitamins. The letter "A" was chosen to mark its position as the initial vitamin in the series.

The discovery of Vitamin A occurred in the early 20th century when researchers found that certain nutrients from animal fats and vegetables were essential for maintaining good vision and preventing diseases like night blindness. This nutrient was later named Vitamin A as part of the alphabetical sequence of vitamins discovered after it.

"Vitamin A" discovered by

"Vitamin A" was discovered by Elmer McCollum, an American biochemist, and Marguerite Davis, a nutritionist, in 1913. They identified it as an essential nutrient while conducting research on dietary factors that could prevent certain health conditions. Their work demonstrated that a substance found in butterfat and egg yolk was necessary for growth and the prevention of night blindness, which led to the discovery of Vitamin A.

At the same time, Lafayette Mendel and Thomas Osborne also conducted parallel research, contributing to the identification of this vitamin.