Work

Theobald Palm and His Remarkable Observation: How the Sunshine Vitamin Came to Be Recognized

Year: 2012

Type: review

Abstract: The seminal discovery that sunlight was important in the prevention of nutritional rickets was made in 1890 by Theobald A. Palm, a medical missionary who contrasted the prevalence of rickets in northern European urban areas with similar areas in Japan and other tropical countries. He surmised that exposure to sunlight prevented rickets. Over the next 40 years his observation led to an understanding of ultraviolet irradiation and its role in vitamin D synthesis. This opened a new era of appreciation for the curative powers of the sun and "the sunshine vitamin". While Palm's observations were in some ways obscure, they had a potent effect on the development of photobiology.

Source: Nutrients

DOI: 10.3390/nu4010042

Author: Russell W. Chesney

Institutions: University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital

Language: English

Topic: History of Science and Medicine

Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,499