The thirteen vitamins that are essential for an adequate
human diet are staggeringly diverse in their
structures, chemical properties and functions, but
they have, by and large, all arrived at a similar juncture
in their evolving recognition and understanding. Fifty
to a hundred years ago, the main research emphasis
was on isolation, structural determination, basic biochemical
properties and functional signifi cance. As
George Ball’s new book demonstrates, the quest for
their functional signifi cance is still continuing and is
by no means yet complete. However, the recent focus
on their public health signifi cance has shifted from a
relatively straightforward concern with the prevention
and cure of overt defi ciency diseases towards
more subtle functional properties, often linked to
those medical conditions that are not obviously
vitamin-dependent.