Show synthesis used for vitamin ina in A con can now be made up on commercial scale NEW YORK the synthesis of vitamin A by a now process that ma makes es possible its prodoc production on on a commercial scale was announced here by dr H M director of research at the warner institute for or therapeutic research of william R warner company until now vitamin A feces necessary sary for the growth of children the normal functioning of the eye night vision and other physiological needs of the body including resistance anceto to infection could be obtained only from fish fish liver oils one of the drawbacks of the natural product was that even the purest concentrates cen till still I 1 had a fish fishy Y 0 odor dor and taste which which made tt it unpalatable to a large number of users the synthetic vitamin from a starting material named beta ionone obtained from lemon grass oil and also found in violets it is this substance that gives violets their characteristic pleasant odor although vitamin A was one of the first of the vitamins to become known it was not until 1831 1031 that its chemical structure was elucidated by dr paul karrer of zurich nobel prize winner however all efforts 0 to o synthesize the complicated alic plic abed molecule mo laeula of 20 carbon atoms arranged in six rings containing five conjugated double chemical bonds and a hydroxyl group OH at the end of the chain hooked on to the ring ture tailed failed tor for years A major reason for the failure was the in instability of the molecule and its sensitivity to adds acids light and the oxygen in the air in 1930 the prominent british chemist kr sir ran lan heilbron Hell bron made some headway toward synthesis by building up an intermediate substance with elgh eighteen teen carbon atoms but even the pressure of the war and the necessity for assuring large amounts of highly active vitamin A for tha air forces to increase or maintain their visual acuity for night not le lead a d t ta OR a syn yn thesis during the war years year |