Nicotinic Acid Research Paper

FUNCTION

Niacin is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex; it is also referred to as vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid. It is one of the eight water-soluble B vitamins that are important for normal function of body processes. Nicotinic acid can be made in the body from the amino acid tryptophan. In order for nicotinic acid to be created from tryptophan, several vitamins and minerals are required for it to occur. This includes vitamins B2 and B6, iron, and copper.

Niacin is needed for energy metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and it is needed by the cells to enable the release energy. Nicotinamide, a derivative of niacin, is required by the body for making coenzymes NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and NADP (nicotinamide

Pellagra was still believed to be an infectious disease, thought to be a form of leprosy resulting from toxins in moldy corn or from insects or parasites. The United States Public Health Service gave Dr. Joseph Goldberg the assignment to investigate the epidemic in 1914. In 1915, Goldberger altered the diets of a sample of prisoners and was able to elicit pellagra, concluding that the cause of pellagra had something to do with milk or meat. By also altering the meals of orphans and other volunteers, he was able to connect the primarily corn-based diet as the source for the development of pellagra. In 1922, surgeons Goldberger and W.F. Tanner identified deficiency of the amino acid tryptophan as a cause for pellagra (Shils, 442). This led to the clarification that amino acid, tryptophan, is converted to nicotinic

In developed parts of the world, pellagra is seen in people with alcoholism, some slow-growing carcinoid tumors, and it can be elicited by diseases related to malabsorption. The autosomal recessive disorder, Hartnup Syndrome, is characterized by the impaired synthesis of niacin from tryptophan, which limits amino acid absorption and transport, and can lead to symptoms of pellagra.

INTERESTING FACTS

NASA reported findings of extra-terrestrial niacin discovered on carbon-rich meteorites. These findings support the theory that origins of life may have come from life’s essential molecules formed in space, brought to Earth by meteors.

To prove pellagra was not contagious, Goldberger and his assistant Dr. Wheeler, injected each other with the blood of patients with pellagra. They swabbed nose and throat secretions from patients with pellagra and rubbed the swabs into their own noses and throats. They even ate capsules of scabs from pellagra patients’ rashes. Others volunteered to these tests, and no one got pellagra. Even still, there were still people and physicians that believed pellagra was