History of my Chemical

Beta carotene was first isolated in 1831, by scientist Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Wackenroder. He was able to crystallize it from a carrot, a veggie which contains beta carotene. Nearly eighty years later in 1907, the empirical formula of beta carotene, C40H56 was established by Richard Willstätter. This was the first time a structure of a Vitamin had been established, and he received a Nobel Prize for his discoveries. In 1919, Harry Steenbock suggested that idea that there was a relationship between beta carotene and Vitamin A. It was later discovered that beta carotene was a provitamin, which meant that our bodies use it to produce a vitamin, which in this case is Vitamin A. This was a completely new topic at the time, and it proved to be extremely beneficial in the scientific and commercial scene. In 1954, Roche, a biotech company, began producing it commercially. Later in the early 80's, it was suggested that beta carotene prevented a number of diseases, and nowadays, many vitamin supplements contain beta carotene.