Abstract
The flavins are a widely distributed group of yellow pigments of prime biochemical importance. Chemically, they are derivatives of isoalloxazine (1 and as such, are modified pteridines; more specifically, they are benzopteridines. The parent compound of the group, riboflavin (2), was initially discovered as an essential dietary factor for rat growth. It was first isolated, in 1933, by Györgyi, Wagner-Jauregg and Kuhn. With the cooperation of a Bavarian cheese dairy, they started with 5400 litres of whey, from which they eventually obtained 1 g of a yellow-orange crystalline compound that they designated lactoflavin (L. lactis = milk, flavis = yellow). Almost simultaneously, another group obtained a similar compound from eggs and called it ovoflavin. Later, a third compound with similar properties was extracted from liver and called hepatoflavin.
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References
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Wider Reading (Books and Reviews)
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Brown, E.G. (1998). Flavins. In: Ring Nitrogen and Key Biomolecules. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4906-8_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4906-8_8
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