Work

In addition to carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, our bodies need water, salts, and substances known as vitamins to grow and function properly. In 1931 Paul Karrer succeeded in extracting vitamin A from cod-liver oil and in determining its composition. Vitamin A is necessary for the body to grow, and one of its components is carotene, which is found in carrots and elsewhere. This was the first vitamin to undergo a mapping of its structure. In 1933 Karrer also determined the structure of vitamin B2, which made it possible to produce the vitamin by artificial means.