Evening star., 1925-07-28
PATENT WTAM|NS
SCORED BY CHEMIST
"Many Are Worthless" Dr..
= D. BreeSe Jones Says.
Describes Them.

Many. If not most, of the CONNER
cial vitamin preparations are worth
ieSs,' DR.. D. BTeese Jones' chemist in
Charge of protein Investigations of the
bureau of Chemistry, Department of
Agriculture, declares in a report on
the present knowledge of vitamins. a
summary of which was made public
today by the department.
''Vitamins should be sought in the
Ssarden, or in the market, and not i'll
we drug store" DIR. Jones says. I'm
cases of suspected vitamin deficiency
IN the diet" the report said, cor
rective measures should be taken
through the use of suitable natural
foodstuffs and not through commercial
Nltamln preparations, many, if not
most, of which are worthless"
Vitamins Essential.
Asserting vitamins are essential to
growth, health and life, although they
contribute neither energy nor tissue
building material, DIR. Jones report
says people and animals are unable to
provide VitaminS within their bodies,
.nd lack of a sufficient amount of them
Noon IS followed by serious conse-
guenCes. The function of vitamins has
been Hkened to that of the spark
plug in d gas engine, and they are
often referred to as the accessory food
factors, DIR. Jones says.
At least five VitaminS are now
known to science and, the report con-
tinued, it is probable that others will
he discovered. The ones now evident
are designated y, b. c, d and + and
the absence from the diet of any one
of these will produce certain char
acteristic effects, the report added.
'Nitamin A, for instance, is essen
tlal to growth and health" says the
report. Absence of the a. in the
diet results in a characteristic af-
Fiction of the eyes and diseases of
the respiratory tract. This vitamin
IS abundant in butter cream, cheese,
whole milk, egg yolk, the liver, heart
e4nd kidneys of animals, in spinach,
lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots.
sweet potatoes, parsnips and green
peas, cod liver oil and liver oils of
some other varieties of fish contain it.
Nitamin b, found in green plant
tissues, cereals and seeds, yeast and
wheat germs, tomatoes, fruits and
nuts, is necessary for the mainte-
nance Of life and health at all ages
the report said. Lack of it promptly
results in loss of appetite and arrest
OF growth, followed by various func-
t1onal disorders and, finally, death" ;"
says DR.. Jones.
Anti-Scuryy Fitamin.
Nitamin C is sometimes known as
the 'anti-scurvy vitamin," says DIR.
Jones, because a lack of it in the
diet causes scurvy, a disease which
has been prevalent among sailors,
soldiers, explorers and others COM
pelled to live for long periods on
dried and preserved foods. The best
sources of vitamin c, says DIR. Jones,
" 1-cA 1nyNo
page, lettuce, spinach, green beans
and peas and turnips. Most green
vegetables, fruits, roots and tubers
contain vitamin c in varying guam
tltIeS. Meat, excepting the internal
organs, is poor source"
N1tamin d seems to control to a
large extent the utilization of lime
and phosphorus in the formation of
bone by the animal organism. It's
absence in the diet, says the report,
will cause ricketts,, a disease char
acterized by enlargement of the
Joints, softening of the bones and
subsequent bending. While admit
ting but little has been learned of the
general distribution of vitamin D in
the plant world, DR.. Jones says this
vitamin has been found in egg yolk,
tn milk to some extent and a slight
Nmount in coconut oil.
Fitamin E, the anti-sterility vita
min, was originally referred to as
,vltamin X, because of the uncer-
tainty as TO whether or not it should
he classed as a vitamin,' continues
the report. Most of the knowledge
concerning it has been obtained with
in the last two years. 1t has been
shown that rats reared on synthetic
food mixtures containing fat, carbo-
hydrate, protein, salts and vitamins A
and B, grow well and have every ap-
pearance of health, but exhibit COM
plete sterility, affecting both males
and females. When small quantities
of natural foodstuff were added to the
ration of these same rats there re-
suited in many cases normal-sized lit
ters of vigorous young. An excess of
vitamin Z cannot increase fertility
beyond normal limits"