Names in Current and Previous Nomenclatures
| Previous name | Chemical name | Reason for name change |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B4 | Adenine | DNA metabolite; synthesized in body |
| Vitamin B8 | Adenylic acid | DNA metabolite; synthesized in body |
| Vitamin F | Essential fatty acids | Needed in large quantities (does not fit the definition of a vitamin). |
| Vitamin G | Riboflavin | Reclassified as Vitamin B2 |
| Vitamin H | Biotin | Reclassified as Vitamin B7 |
| Vitamin J | Catechol, Flavin | Catechol nonessential; flavin reclassified as B2 |
| Vitamin L1 | Anthranilic acid | Non essential |
| Vitamin L2 | Adenylthiomethylpentose | RNA metabolite; synthesized in body |
| Vitamin M | Folic acid | Reclassified as Vitamin B9 |
| Vitamin O | Carnitine | Synthesized in body |
| Vitamin P | Flavonoids | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin PP | Niacin | Reclassified as Vitamin B3 |
| Vitamin S | Salicylic acid | Proposed inclusion of salicylate as an essential micronutrient |
| Vitamin U | S-Methylmethionine | Protein metabolite; synthesized in body |
The reason that the set of vitamins skips directly from E to K is that the vitamins corresponding to letters F-J were either reclassified over time, discarded as false leads, or renamed because of their relationship to vitamin B, which became a complex of vitamins.
The German-speaking scientists who isolated and described vitamin K (in addition to naming it as such) did so because the vitamin is intimately involved in the Koagulation of blood following wounding. At the time, most (but not all) of the letters from F through to J were already designated, so the use of the letter K was considered quite reasonable. The table on the right lists chemicals that had previously been classified as vitamins, as well as the earlier names of vitamins that later became part of the B-complex.
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—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
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—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)