Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (dietary supplement) and sun exposure can greatly affect lipid and pigment composition. As more is learned about the components of different cyanobacterial species, growers and harvesters are better able to determine the optimal growth conditions for obtaining optimal yields. " Aphanizomenon flos-aquae" has been shown to contain varying amounts at least 13 vitamins: vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E, vitamin K, and many of the B-complex vitamins including B (thiamin), B (riboflavin), B (pyridoxine), choline, biotin, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, and B (cobalamin). However, "Aphanizomenon flos-aquae" contains pseudovitamin B which can block absorbtion of true B and is
Vitamin C had proven this, but published the result without giving Szent-Györgyi credit for it. This led to a bitter dispute over priority. In 1933, Walter Norman Haworth chemically identified the vitamin as -hexuronic acid, proving this by synthesis in 1933. Haworth and Szent-Györgyi proposed that L-hexuronic acid be named a-scorbic acid, and chemically -ascorbic acid, in honor of its activity against scurvy. The term's etymology is from Latin, "a-" meaning away, or off from, while -scorbic is from Medieval Latin "scorbuticus" (pertaining to scurvy), cognate with Old Norse "skyrbjugr", French "scorbut", Dutch "scheurbuik" and Low German "scharbock". Partly for this discovery,