" Very quickly the compound that prevents the disease was identified as a small molecule present in cabbage, lemon juice, and many other foods, and in 1932 Szen

" Very quickly the compound that prevents the disease was identified as a small molecule present in cabbage, lemon juice, and many other foods, and in 1932 Szent-Györgyi definitively isolated ascorbic acid." Cook used cabbage on his voyage. There is a good account of the problems of scurvy during long voyages here ~ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/captaincook_scurvy_01.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/captain...