Vitamins
A vitamin is a compound that is generally not synthesized by a given organism but is nonetheless vital to its survival or health (for example coenzymes). These compounds must be absorbed, or eaten, but typically only in trace quantities. When originally proposed by Casimir Funk, a Polish biochemist, he believed them to all be basic and therefore named them vital amines. The "al" was later dropped to form the word vitamines.
Read more about this topic: Biomolecule