Question 64
Part 1: The discovery of Vitamin C
James Lind was Scottish doctor who lived 300 years ago. A sea captain from that time wrote that on a long sea voyage 380 sailors out of 510 had died of a disease called scurvy. The sailors with scurvy got sores on their bodies. They also had bleeding gums and their teeth fell out.
No one knew why the sailors got the disease or how to prevent or cure it. Some doctors believed that scurvy was caused by food that wasn’t properly digested, bad water, too much hard work and living in damp conditions.
James Lind wanted to find out more about scurvy. He read medical reports to find as much information as he could about the disease. He also carried out an investigation. He tested six different treatments on 12 sailors who had scurvy.
Each day two sailors were given an apple drink, two had seawater and another two had a mixture of garlic, mustard and dried radish root. Another group of two were given vinegar, two were given weak sulfuric acid and the last two ate oranges and lemons.
These are Lind’s results after 14 days.
| Treatment | Result |
|---|---|
| Apple drink | Some improvement |
| Seawater | No improvement |
| Garlic, mustard and dried radish root | No improvement |
| Vinegar | No improvement |
| Weak sulfuric acid | No improvement |
| Oranges and lemons | No signs of scurvy |
Lind had discovered a cure for scurvy, but he did not know why it worked. It was only in the 1930s that scientists discovered from their experiments which substance in fruits and vegetables prevents and cures scurvy. They called the substance Vitamin C.
Discuss these questions.
What could Lind conclude from his investigation?
James Lind was Scottish doctor who lived 300 years ago. A sea captain from that time wrote that on a long sea voyage 380 sailors out of 510 had died of a disease called scurvy. The sailors with scurvy got sores on their bodies. They also had bleeding gums and their teeth fell out.
No one knew why the sailors got the disease or how to prevent or cure it. Some doctors believed that scurvy was caused by food that wasn’t properly digested, bad water, too much hard work and living in damp conditions.
James Lind wanted to find out more about scurvy. He read medical reports to find as much information as he could about the disease. He also carried out an investigation. He tested six different treatments on 12 sailors who had scurvy.
Each day two sailors were given an apple drink, two had seawater and another two had a mixture of garlic, mustard and dried radish root. Another group of two were given vinegar, two were given weak sulfuric acid and the last two ate oranges and lemons.
These are Lind’s results after 14 days.
| Treatment | Result |
|---|---|
| Apple drink | Some improvement |
| Seawater | No improvement |
| Garlic, mustard and dried radish root | No improvement |
| Vinegar | No improvement |
| Weak sulfuric acid | No improvement |
| Oranges and lemons | No signs of scurvy |
Lind had discovered a cure for scurvy, but he did not know why it worked. It was only in the 1930s that scientists discovered from their experiments which substance in fruits and vegetables prevents and cures scurvy. They called the substance Vitamin C.
Discuss these questions.
What could Lind conclude from his investigation?
