History 309 - Biotechnology 5 - Vitamins and Antibiotics

Who coined the term “vitamine”?

Casimir Funk in 1912.

What does “vitamine” mean?

“Vital amine” — a compound essential for life; later shortened to “vitamin.”

What year were vitamins first discovered?

1912

What are vitamins?

Organic compounds required in small amounts for essential metabolic functions.

What diseases led to vitamin discovery?

Beriberi (B1), Scurvy (C), Rickets (D), Pellagra (Niacin /B3).

When did WWI occur?

1914–1918.

How did WWI influence vitamin research?

Food shortages and soldier nutrition needs made nutrition a state priority.

What process connected beer brewing to vitamin and antibiotic development?

Fermentation / Zymotechnology.

When were the first vitamins isolated?

1910s – 1920s.

What act was passed due to growth of nutrition and drug research?

Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (1938).

What act did the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (1938) replace?

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906).

What was the purpose of the 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act?

Required proof of safety before marketing drugs or supplements.

What event led to the 1938 Act?

The Sulfanilamide Disaster (1937) — toxic elixir killed 100+ people.

What company industrialized vitamin production?

Hoffmann–La Roche (1930s–1950s).

How were vitamins mass-produced?

Microbial fermentation and organic chemistry.

Who discovered penicillin and when?

Alexander Fleming in 1928.

What did Fleming observe?

A Penicillium mold killed bacteria on a culture plate.

Who developed penicillin for large-scale use?

Howard Florey and Norman Heatley (1941–43).

When was penicillin mass-produced?

1943 – 1945 during WWII.

What U.S. agency coordinated wartime penicillin production?

War Production Board (WWII).

Where was large-scale penicillin fermentation perfected?

Peoria, Illinois (NRRL lab) in 1943.

What medium was used to grow penicillin industrially?

Corn steep liquor in deep-tank fermentation.

What was the impact of penicillin in WWII?

Saved soldiers’ lives and proved industrial biotech’s value.

When did WWII occur?

1939–1945.

How were vitamins and antibiotics similar?

Both came from fermentation research and industrial microbiology.

Who discovered streptomycin and when?

Selman Waksman in 1943.

What disease did streptomycin treat?

Tuberculosis (TB).

What term did Selman Waksman coin?

“Antibiotic.”

What was the next major antibiotic after penicillin?

Streptomycin (1943).

What was the main mechanism behind both vitamins & antibiotics?

Microbial fermentation.

How did fermentation change between WWI and WWII?

Shift from surface culture to deep-tank fermentation.

How did WWII change the pharmaceutical industry?

Turned it into a government-funded industrial research sector.

Who oversaw post-war U.S. science organization?

Vannevar Bush.

What report did Vannevar Bush write?

Science, the Endless Frontier (1945).

What agency was created as a result of Bush’s report?

National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1950.

What was the first antibiotic to be mass-produced?

Penicillin (WWII).

What antibiotic marked the start of modern pharma?

Penicillin

What year did Hoffmann–La Roche commercialize Vitamin C synthesis?

1930s (approx. 1933).

When was the Pure Food and Drug Act passed?

1906

What did the Pure Food and Drug Act do?

Prohibited mislabeling and adulteration of food and drugs.

What year was the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act passed?

1938

What year was penicillin discovered?

1928

What year was streptomycin discovered?

1943

What year was the NSF established?

1950

Who coined “antibiotic”?

Selman Waksman.

What was the link between vitamins, antibiotics, and consumer culture?

Became everyday symbols of scientific health and modern life.

How did WWII foster government–industry collaboration?

Wartime urgency broke barriers between academic and industrial science.

What was the ethical debate surrounding penicillin?

Credit to Fleming vs. Florey/Heatley (team vs. individual discovery).

What discovery proved disease could result from deficiency, not infection?

Vitamin research (1910s – 1930s).

How did women relate to vitamin culture?

Target market for health ads and participants in nutrition research labs.

What connected WWII penicillin to later biotechnology?

Demonstrated industrial control of microbes → foundation for genetic engineering.

How much can life be modified to sustain life?

Central philosophical question linking vitamins & antibiotics to biotech ethics.