| RefNo | EC/1973/17 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XIX, 91 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Kodicek, Egon Hynek: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Description | Citation typed. Letter attached to certificate. |
| Citation | Distinguished for his contributions to nutrition and in particular to the study of the metabolism and mode of action in vitamins. His early work included the first application of polarography to a vitamin, ascorbic acid, and was concerned with the development of methods of vitamin estimation.
He has contributed significantly to our understanding of the effects of ascorbic acid on the biosynthesis of connective tissue compounds in experimental wounds and during the healing of fractures, notably of collagen and acid glycosaminoglycans. Kodicek disovered and identified niacytin, the bound unavailable form of nicotinic acid in maize and other cereals. This discovery shed new light on the pathogenesis of pellagra. He identified the biochemical pathway of niacytin metabolism which results in the endogenous formation of trigonelline. He was one of the first in preparing biosynthetically 14-C-labelled ergocalciferol, and later prepared [1-3-H] cholecacliferol of high specific activity. Using these compounds, the systemic formation and intermediary metabolism of vitamin D was elucidated, showing that the vitamin D molecule, and particularly 25-hydroxyxholecalciferol, is modified by the kidney which introduces an oxygen function into position C-1 to form a hormone-like, nucleus-seeking metabolite which has three times the activity of cholecalciferol or 25-hydroxycholecalciferol. This work, which is continuing, will have a direct bearing on our understanding of disorders such as vitamin-D resistant rickets, idiopathic hypercalcaemia in infants, osteoporosis and renal osteodystrophies. |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA1949 | Kodicek; Egon Hynek (1908 - 1982) | 1908 - 1982 |