niacin
/ˈnaɪəsɪn/ noun
- noun (organic chemistry, biochemistry) A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.
Synonyms
E375 when used as a colour retention agent nicotinic acid vitamin B3 vitamin P-P PP-factor pellagra-preventive factor vitamin PP
Etymology
in 1942 derived from nicotinic + acid + vitamin, chosen to dissociate it from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “niacin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details