Who Invented Insulin?

J.J.R. Macleod and Frederick Banting at the University of Toronto discovered insulin, which is a hormone produced in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Insulin regulates the carbohydrate metabolism as well as the liver's ability to release fat. It is used to treat some forms of diabetes mellitus.

Banting followed the work of Oscar Minkowski, Polish-German physician who did pioneering work on the role of pancreas in digestion. In 1921, Banting joined Macleod at Toronto and extracted insulin from the pancreas of dogs. Banting was helped in his work by a medical student named George Best. They gave the name isletin to the new protein. Macleod along with James Collip, a biochemist, purified the protein to make it suitable for human testing. On January 11, 1922, a fourteen-year-old diabetic named Leonard Thompson was given the first injection of insulin.

Macleod and Banting were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923 for their discovery. Macleod shared his prize with Collip and Banting with Best. The primary structure of insulin was determined by the British molecular biologist Frederick Sanger to make it the first protein to have its structure completely known.

The insulin was invented by Nicolae Pavelescu. Dummie!

Fredrick Banting