CHEM 181 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Elmer Mccollum, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Beta-Carotene

• School: McGill University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 181
• Professor: David Noble Harpp, Ariel Fenster, Joseph A Schwarcz

Document Summary

Video 1: vit a discovered by dr. elmer mccollum-biochemist u. s. In 1913 identified "fat-soluble factor a" that was required for the health of rats. Important for night vision (night blindess cant see well at night-deficiency in vit a, but if you see well at night vit a wont do anything: vit a deficiency is estimated to affect approx. 1/3 of children under the age of 5 around the world. It is estimated to claim (bc of impairment of immune function) the lives of 670,000 children under 5 annually. It can be almost magical in clearing up recalcitrant acne, as you can see here. However, there"s a very very big but here this is a drug that must not be taken during pregnancy, because it has a very power teratogenic effect. That is, it affects the embryo in a negative way.