vit amins and hormones

338 Pages·2001·6.82 MB·English

CHEMISTRY
OF
VIT AMINS AND HORMONES
By
S. RANGASWAMI,
M.A., Ph. D. (Andhra), A.R.Le., F.A.Sc.
Reader in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Andhra University
AND
T. H . .£ESiIADRI,
M.A., Ph.D. (Manchester), F.RI.C., F.A.Sc., ll.N.J.
Vlkrama Deo Professor ofJhemi8try, Andllra University
ANDHRA UNIVERSITY
WALTAIR, SOUTH INDIA
1946
Printed for The Andhra University, \Valtair by
Mr. S. Viswanathan, B.A., Printer and Publisher at The Central Art Press,
14, Singanna Naick Street, Madras, 1.
DEDICATED
TO
PROFESSOR SIR ROBERT ROBINSON.
Pre8ident of the Royal Society,
\\ hose illt uitive genius and outstanding contributions to Organic and
Dil -Chemistry have been a unique source of inspiration
to students the world over.

PREFACE
The chemistry of vitamins and hormones is largely
a growth of the past fifteen years and its development
during t.his period has been spectacul ar. As the result
almost all of them have now been prepared in a pure
condition and their chemical constitutions established
beyond doubt and confirmed by synthesis. In several
cases synthesis is carried out in commercial quantities.
The present book 1S intended to give a direct and
clear account of the subject in a small volume. In view
of its limited scope extensive bibliography is not provi
ded. References are given only to the most important
chemical contributions. Fllrther, to mention 'the names
of all the workerf", who are pal'ticulal'ly numerous in this
field, would have made tbe description cumbersome, and
hence any failing in this direction should be pardoned.
Owing to the world war there has been serious difficulty
in obtaining literature relating to very recent advances
and the printing of the book has also taken a consider
able length of time. However, all efforts have been
made to bring the account up to date.
For convenience of treatment the fat-soluble vita
mins are placed together first and the vmter-soluble
vitamins follow. Where there are several ways of iso
lating a vitamin 01' hormone, of proving its constitution
or of synthesising it, the most direct ones are generally
chosen, and some others which may involve important
chemical technique are also mentioned. lnformation
about certain groups of compounds like the sterols and
carotenes and also about certain methods and pheno
mena will be useful for understanding the chemistry of
vitamins and hormones. This could not be conveniently
introduced in the main part of the book without affect
ing continuity of discussion or description. Hence such
information is provided separately at the end of the
book under notes.
S. R
ANDHRA UNIVERSITY
May 1946 T, R. S.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I Vitamins and their general characteris·
tics 1
II Axerophthol: Vitamin A 6
III Vitamin D 23
IV Tocopherols: Vitamin E 39
V Vitamin K 58
Vitamins of the B group 70
VI Thiamin or Aneurin: Vitamin BI 71
VII Riboflavin 87
VIII Nicotinic acid or Niacin 98
IX Pyridoxin or Adermin (Vitamin B 105
6)
X Pantothenic acid 115
XI Biotin (Vitamin H, Bios II B) 125
XII Minor Vitamins of the B Group 135
XIII Ascorbic acid (Vitamin 0) 142
XIV Vitamins and Enzymes 160
XV Hormones and their general characteris-
169
tics •
XVI Adrenaline 172
XVII Thyroxine 187
XVIII Sex Hormones 202
XIX Oestrogenic Hormones 205
XX Oorpus Luteum Hormone (Progesterone) .. 219
XXI Androgenic Hormones 225
XXII Sex Hormones: Their Biogenesis and
Total Synthesis 234
XXIII Oortex Hormones 245
XXIV Hormones of Unknown Oonstitution 260
XXV Plant Hormones 269
Notes 281
Literature References 309
Index 319

CHAPTER I
VITAMINS AND THEIR GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS
The discovery and the subsequent investigation of
vitamins have marked an epoch in the progress of our
knowledge of disease and nutrition. In the history of
civilization various ideas have been current at different
times regarding the cause and cure of diseases. Some of
them are even now noticed simultaneously in the diffe
rent strata of society. Probably the 'oldest and most
primitive idea was to attribute them to evil spirits whose
anger results in plague and pestilence. Sacrifices and
other ceremonies were performed in order to appease them.
A definite\y higher stage of development was the theory
of poisons or toxic substances as the cause of ailments,
and treatment therefore consisted in removing these
poisons. According to the humoral theor,y associated
with some of the ancient civilizations, in a state of
health the humors are present in equal concentration
in the body. When one of them predominates there
is disease and treatment consists' in restoring the
equilibrium between the humors. With the entry of the
microscope as one of the tools of the scientist and the dis
covery of micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi. tho
bacterial theory of ,diseases held. sway from the begin
ning of the nineteenth century and it was considered an
almost inevItable necessity to find a micro-organism as
the cause of every known disease. Viruses were added
later on. All the above represent positive causative
agents and were easy to understand. The existence of
deficiency diseases and their causa tion by the lack of cer
tain essential substances were more difficult to realise
and were understood only very recently. One such defici-
:-eney is that of vitamins which are normally present in
: food-stuffs.
A parallel development in our ideas of food may also
be traced. Primitive man slowly accumulated knowledge
2 CHEMISTRY OF VITAMINS AND HORMONES
regarding hanuful and harmless food, digestible and
indigestible; but his first' criterion would have been the
feeling of satisfaction arising oilt of a full stomach.
More and more information was collected later on
regarding the detailed properties of \ different lQinds of
food. But marked progress was not possible till chemical
knowledge came to be applied to this important subject.
Food was then recognised as supplying the energy requir
ed for work and maintaining body temperature and also
as providing the necessary mater'ial for body growth and
replenishment. Proteins, carbohydrates and fats were
found to be the important comp011ents; their capaciO~y to
supply energy and promote growth was carefully studied:
Later came the recognition of the vital role of minerals.
particularly of calciun. and phosphates. The lates~ addi
tion to our knowledge in this field is that certain acces
sory food factors or adjuvants, present only in very small
amounts in our foods, play a very important part in
maintaining the health and growth of animals. These
are known as vitamins. '
The name" vi tamine" is due to Funk, one of the ear
ly workers in this subject. It implies that all the vita
mins are nitrogenous and basic in nature. Though it is
correct as far as the anti-beri-beri vitamin on which he
was working and many other members of the B group
are concerned, it is not satisfactory in regard to the large
number of othe.r vitamins which are neither nitrogenous
nor basic. However, by long usage the name has got
established and is now used with the omission of the
final 'e.'
The vitamins have a number of common properties
which justify their being grouped together. They are
required only in small quantities and even in such
amounts they bring about marked physiological effects.
Specificity of function is another characteristic. Each
vitamin is related to a definite disease. The lack of the
vitamin causes the disease and the supply 'of it is the
remedy. In general they are complex compounds; but
the complexity of the molecules varies very much. The
pellagra-preventive factor is one of the simplest, being
identical with nicotinic acid; some others, however,