Crystalline vitamin D

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Abstract
Calciferol purified by esterification now has twice the antirachitic activity previously recorded, and appears to be identical with the vitamin D2 of Linsert and Windaus; it still produces toxic effects when given in excessive doses. A simplified process is described for preparing it from the irradiation products of ergosterol without distillation. An account is given of 2 inactive compounds, pyrocalciferol and sterql X. The activity of each of the crystalline antirachitic products hitherto described is due to a common constituent. Thus the vitamin D1 of Windaus is a compound of calciferol (=vitamin D2) and sterol X, and the crystalline distillation products first described contained pyrocalciferol and sterol X as well as calciferol. Melting-point data are given, showing that this system affords an interesting study in the application of the phase rule to solid solns. The probability is discussed that calciferol (and vitamin D2) represent "vitamin D" in a state of approximate purity.

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