Abstract
AN interesting discussion on "Anti-vitamins in Food", arranged by the Nutrition Society, took place on October 23 at the Royal Society of Arts. Sir Edward Mellanby, who might justly claim to be the originator of the modern concept of anti-vitamins, was chairman. In his introductory remarks he pointed out that the 'anti-vitamin' or 'toxamin' theory is now some twenty years old, although his early claims that cereals must contain substances which antagonize vitamin D had not been immediately accepted. Later work, however, in identifying phytic acid as an anti-calcifying factor, had placed the existence of anti-vitamins beyond dispute. Considerable progress is now being made towards an understanding of the general principles underlying the mode of action of the anti-vitamins, and both their significance as dietary factors and their potentialities as therapeutic agents are clearly recognized.
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26 February 1949
An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/163318f0
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Vitamins and Anti-Vitamins. Nature 162, 985–986 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/162985a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/162985a0