From Vitamin Discovery to Vascular Medicine: The Guardians of Blood Vessels Revealed by the Mystery of Scurvy

Introduction: Invisible Nutrients Changed Medicine

When people hear the word “Vitamin” today, they often have the impression of “supplements that are somewhat good for the body.” However, until the early 20th century, the very concept of vitamins did not exist, and because of this, millions of lives continued to be lost.

Especially regarding vascular health, the history of vitamin discovery is essentially the history of vascular medicine. The terror of scurvy revealed the deep relationship between Vitamin C and blood vessels, and research on beriberi taught us about the effects not only on the nervous system but also on the cardiovascular system.

In this article, we will trace the history of the discovery of vitamins and explain how they became linked to vascular health from the perspective of the history of science.

1. Before the Concept of Vitamins: The Era of “Mysterious Strange Diseases”

Scurvy: The Nightmare of the Age of Discovery

From the 15th to the 18th century, during the Age of Discovery in Europe, there was a disease that drove sailors to their deaths one after another. This was Scurvy.

The symptoms were terrifying:

• Bleeding gums, loss of teeth
• Subcutaneous hemorrhage (purpura), re-bleeding of old wounds
• General malaise, anemia
• Vascular walls becoming brittle, causing capillaries to rupture

It was not uncommon for more than 50% of the crew to die from scurvy on long voyages¹.

James Lind’s Experiment (1747)

James Lind, a Scottish naval surgeon, conducted what can be called the first clinical controlled trial in medical history in 1747.

He divided 12 sailors with scurvy into 6 groups and tried different “treatments” on each. As a result, the group given citrus fruits (oranges and lemons) recovered dramatically².

However, this discovery was initially ignored by the medical community. The causative substance (Vitamin C) would not be actually identified until more than 170 years later.

Why do “blood vessels” become weak? What was later discovered was the fact that Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is essential for collagen synthesis. Collagen is like the “steel frame” that supports the structure of blood vessel walls, especially capillaries. When Vitamin C is deficient, blood vessels literally “collapse.”

Beriberi: The Plague that Struck Asia

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Beriberi raged in East Asia, including Japan.

Symptoms included:

• Peripheral neuropathy (numbness, weakness in legs)
• Heart failure (Wet Beriberi): The heart enlarges and edema occurs
• Sudden death

Beriberi caused tens of thousands of deaths annually in Japan at the time and became a serious problem in the Japanese Navy and Army during the Meiji era.

Kanehiro Takaki and Umetaro Suzuki: Contributions of Japanese Researchers

• Kanehiro Takaki (1849-1920): As a naval medical officer, he implemented a reform to change the diet from white rice to barley rice, drastically reducing beriberi (1884)³. Although the cause was unknown at the time, it was later found to be due to a deficiency of Vitamin B1 (Thiamine).

• Umetaro Suzuki (1874-1943): In 1910, he extracted “Oryzanin” (later Vitamin B1) from rice bran for the first time in the world⁴. This was a remarkable achievement of the world’s first vitamin isolation, but it was unfortunate that international recognition was delayed.

Relationship Between Beriberi and Blood Vessels/Heart

Vitamin B1 is not just a “nerve vitamin.” It is essential for myocardial energy metabolism (breakdown of sugar in the citric acid cycle), and its deficiency causes myocardial dysfunction, leading to a condition similar to dilated cardiomyopathy (wet beriberi)⁵.

2. The Birth of the Concept of “Vitamin” (1912)

Casimir Funk: The Man Who Named Nutrients

In 1912, Polish biochemist Casimir Funk named the compound obtained from beriberi research “Vitamine”⁶.

The etymology is:

• Vita (Latin for “Life”) + amine (nitrogen compound)

Later, it was found that not all vitamins have an amine structure, so the final “e” was dropped to become “Vitamin”.

This naming established the concept of “nutrients essential even in trace amounts.”

3. Discovery of Major Vitamins and Their Relationship to Blood Vessels

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): Isolated in 1932

• Discoverer: Albert Szent-Györgyi isolated it from paprika (1932), won the Nobel Prize⁷.
• Impact on Blood Vessels:
  • Coenzyme for collagen synthesis
  • Maintenance of vascular endothelial structure
  • Protection of vasodilation function through maintenance of NO (Nitric Oxide) production

The discovery of Vitamin C, which began with scurvy research, was also the starting point for modern vascular endothelial function (FMD) research.

Vitamin B Group: Key to Metabolism Linking Nerves and Blood Vessels

Especially Folic Acid, B6, and B12 are essential for the metabolism of homocysteine, which is considered a “toxin for blood vessels,” and are directly linked to the maintenance of vascular endothelial function⁸.

Vitamin D: From “Rickets” to “Vascular Hormone”

Overcoming Rickets

In the 19th and 20th centuries, rickets (bone deformation, growth retardation) surged in urban areas after the Industrial Revolution. The cause was Vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sunlight.

• 1919-1922: Edward Mellanby and others discovered Vitamin D⁹.
• It was found that sunbathing and intake of cod liver oil dramatically improved rickets.

Impact on Blood Vessels

Modern research has revealed that Vitamin D is not just a “bone vitamin” but a regulator of the circulatory system (hormone-like substance):

• Suppression of RAAS (Renin-Angiotensin System)
• Prevention of vascular smooth muscle calcification
• Maintenance of endothelial cell function and improvement of arterial stiffness¹⁰

Vitamin K: From “Blood Coagulation” to “Prevention of Vascular Calcification”

• Year Discovered: 1929, Henrik Dam discovered it from hemorrhagic disease in chickens¹¹.
• Etymology: Koagulation (German for “Coagulation”)

Initially considered a nutrient necessary for the synthesis of blood clotting factors, its critical role in preventing vascular calcification is now attracting attention.

Vitamin K activates MGP (Matrix Gla Protein), preventing calcium from depositing on blood vessel walls¹². When deficient, blood vessels “harden like bone.”

4. The Moment Vitaminology Changed Vascular Medicine

Paradigm Shift: From “Deficiency Treatment” to “Preventive Medicine”

Until the mid-20th century, vitamins were “drugs to cure deficiency diseases (scurvy, beriberi, rickets).”

However, epidemiological studies since the 1980s have revealed that vitamins are also important as “preventive factors preventing chronic diseases (arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases).”

• Large-scale epidemiological surveys like the Framingham Heart Study showed an association between blood levels of Vitamin B group and Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk.
• The possibility that the antioxidant effects of Vitamins C and E contribute to inhibiting the progression of arteriosclerosis was discussed (though the issue of the “antioxidant paradox” was also identified).

Summary: Vitamins Were “Guardians of Blood Vessels”

Looking back at the history of vitamin discovery, we notice that many of them started with abnormalities in blood vessels or the circulatory system.

Take Home Message

• The discovery of vitamins was born from the tragedy of humanity suffering from deficiency diseases.
• Research on scurvy, beriberi, and rickets revealed the deep connection between vitamins and blood vessels.
• Today, vitamins are re-evaluated not as “drugs to cure diseases” but as “nutrients that continue to protect blood vessels.”

Related Articles

• Vitamins and Vascular Health: Important Players Beyond C and E
• Why Does Vitamin C Improve Vascular Endothelial Function? The Depths of Molecular Mechanisms

References