A disease that was characterized by dermatitis of sunlight-exposed skin was described in Spain in 1735 by Gaspar Casal. He attributed the cause to poor diet. In northern Italy it was named "pellagra" from the Lombard language (agra = holly-like or serum-like; pell = skin). In time, the disease was more closely linked specifically to corn. In the US, Joseph Goldberger was assigned to study pellagra by the Surgeon General of the United States. His studies confirmed a corn-based diet as the culprit, but he did not identify the root cause.Nicotinic acid was extracted from liver by biochemist Conrad Elvehjem in 1937. He later identified the active ingredient, referring to it as "pellagra-preventing factor" and the "anti-blacktongue factor." It was also referred to as "vitamin PP", "vitamin P-P" and "PP-factor", all derived from the term "pellagra-preventive factor". In the late 1930s, studies by Tom Douglas Spies, Marion Blankenhorn, and Clark Cooper confirmed that niacin cured pellagra in humans. The prevalence of the disease was greatly reduced as a result.In 1942, when flour enrichment with nicotinic acid began, a headline in the popular press said "Tobacco in Your Bread." In response, the Council on Foods and Nutrition of the American Medical Association approved of the Food and Nutrition Boards new names niacin and niacin amide for use primarily by non-scientists. It was thought appropriate to choose a name to dissociate nicotinic acid from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins.
Laropiprant is a prostaglandin D2 binding drug shown to reduce niacin-induced vasodilation and flushing side effects. A clinical trial showed no additional efficacy of Tredaptive in lowering cholesterol when used together with other statin drugs, but did show an increase in other side effects. The study resulted in the withdrawal of Tredaptive from the international market. One form of dietary supplement sold in the US is inositol hexanicotinate (IHN), also called inositol nicotinate. This is inositol that has been esterified with niacin on all six of inositols alcohol groups. IHN is usually sold as "flush-free" or "no-flush" niacin in units of 250, 500, or 1000 mg/tablets or capsules. In the US, it is sold as an over-the-counter formulation, and often is marketed and labeled as niacin, thus misleading consumers into thinking they are getting an active form of the medication. While this form of niacin does not cause the flushing associated with the immediate-release products, there is not enough evidence to recommend IHN to treat hyperlipidemia. History
Niacin as a chemical compound was first described by chemist Hugo Weidel in 1873 in his studies of nicotine, but that predated by many years the concept of food components other than protein, fat and carbohydrates that were essential for life. Vitamin nomenclature was initially alphabetical, with Elmer McCollum calling these fat-soluble A and water-soluble B. Over time, eight chemically distinct, water-soluble B vitamins were isolated and numbered, with niacin as vitamin B3. Corn (maize) became a staple food in the southeast United States and in parts of Europe.