Laurel outlook., 1948-07-21
Scientists Trace
vitamins' Course
Through the Body

AMES, lOWA.@SclentlStS are be-
ginning to lift the curtain of secrecy
On exactly what happens to the vita
minis you eat and what they do.
The new knowledge is important
to health and may aid in under
standing such diseases as rheumatic
fever and high blood pressure. 1t
shows that some diseases, and even
changes in food habits, a increase
your need for certain vitaminS.
The facts are hard to get because
human chemistry is so involved.
But clews and discoveries from
many laboratories are helping to
map the vitamin trails through this
Jungle of human chemistry.
One important clew, said DR.. Rob-
ert R. Sealock, Iowa state college
biochemist, came from Europe in
studies of Addison's disease. This
is a chronic weakening disease, u.s.
ually fatal, and in it the skin turns
a coppery bronze color.
The European investigators found
that doses of vitamin c cleared up
this discoloration. 1t didn't improve
the other symptoms of the disease.
The copper color was due to me-
lanin, a skin pigment, which when
present in smaller quantities, is the
sun tan pigment. The disease vic
Tins had too much melanin.
DIR. Sealock Finds Reason
DR.. Sealock, then at the Univer-
sity of Rochester, and co-workers
found the reason why. The melanin
was formed because one important
chemical wasn't being used proper
ly. This chemical was an amino
acid, tyrosine. It's one of more than
20 amino acids from which all pro-
teins are made.
Lack of vitamin c, they showed,
broke the chain of steps in the
proper use of the ~tyrosine,
One of the broken links formed a
that produced the me-
A practical use for this finding
was discovered by DR.. S. z. Levine
Of Cornell university medical center.
Premature babies, fed on cows
milk, developed S m p t o m S of
scurvy. The cows milk has
If the tyrosine than mothers milk.
The larger amounts of the tyro-
sine meant more vitamin c was
needed than the babies received in
heir diet. DR.. Levine gave the pre-
nature babies more vitamin c, and
hey then could take the cows milk
without fear of Scurvy.
Other Discoveries
Other discoveries followed quickly.
1t New York university, Miss Ella
Tishberg found that in a certain,
airly rare disease, something is in
he blood which decreases the nor
nal oxygen-carrying capacity of the
lood. This something proved to be
ne of the broken links again from
nsufficienctly-used tyrosine. When
of the disease received more
itamin c, the condition was RENE
led.
Some children with rheumatic
ever were also found to excrete
MS same substance from tyrosine
of a lack of vitamin c. The
isease may increase the need for
itamin c, DR.. Sealock said. This
iscovery may supply a clew to n
{ the factors in rheumatic fever.
The tyrosine-vitamin c relation .
nip also is suspected of some pos
BILE influence in high blood pres
ire. There is evidence that other
roducts from the ~tyrosine have ,
,me tendency to boost blood pres .
Ire. '
Lack of vitamin c in such a case :
light be a predisposing influence !
increased blood pressure. With =.
reater intake of the vitamin the !
1desirable substance is no longer 4.
resent. This question still is being :
,,l,oI r. Co-1oaI~ z..l