Vitamin

I read this information from Organic Chemistry. The name vitamin was first used in 1912 by the Polish chemist Casimir Funk, who called them vitamines because he thought that they all contained an amine functional group. Later the word was shortened to vitamin, because some are amines but others, like vitamins A and C, are not. Vitamins are organic compounds needed in small amounts for normal cell function. Our bodies cannot synthesize these compound, so they must be obtained in the diet. Most vitamins are identified by letter, such as A, C, D, E, and K. There are several different B vitamins, though, so a subscript is added to distinguish them: for example, B₁, B₂, and B₁₂.