from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins. The resulting name niacin was derived from cotinic id + vitam. Carpenter found in 1951, that niacin in corn is biologically unavailable, and can be released only in very alkaline lime water of pH 11. This explains why a Latin-American culture that used alkali-treated cornmeal to make tortilla was not at risk for niacin deficiency. In 1955, Altschul and colleagues described large amounts of niacin as having a lipid-lowering property. As such, niacin is the oldest known lipid-lowering drug. Lovastatin, the first 'statin' drug, was first marketed in 1987. Research In animal models and in vitro, niacin produces marked anti-inflammatory effects in a variety of tissues – including the brain, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and vascular tissue – through the activation of hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCA2), also known as niacin receptor 1 (NIACR1). Unlike niacin, nicotinamide does not activate NIACR1; however, both niacin and nicotinamide activate the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) in vitro. References External links AbbVie brands Aromatic acids B vitamins CYP2D6 inhibitors CYP3A4 inhibitors GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators GPER agonists Hypolipidemic agents 3-Pyridyl compounds X