Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, was discovered in the early 20th century. In the late 1800s, Beriberi, a disease characterized by symptoms such as muscle weakness, neuropathy, and heart problems, was prevalent in Asia and affecting millions of people. In the early 1900s, scientists discovered that the cause of beriberi was a dietary deficiency, and in 1911 a Japanese scientist, Dr. Takaki Kanehiro, observed that supplementing the diets of sailors with a substance found in rice bran prevented the onset of beriberi.
Several years later, in 1926, a British biochemist, Dr. RD Williams, identified and isolated the active ingredient in rice bran, which was later named vitamin B1. He demonstrated that thiamine was the specific nutrient that prevented beriberi, and his work laid the foundation for our understanding of the role of thiamine in human nutrition and metabolism. Today, vitamin B1 is recognized as an essential nutrient and is widely used in the treatment of beriberi and other related conditions.