Theodor Frølich

After examen artium from Gjertsen's Skole (1888) Frølich studied medicine at the University of Oslo and gained the cand.med degree in 1895. He was a general practitioner in Larvik and Sandefjord Spa and returned to Kristiania in 1896 as chief physician at Rikshospitalet, the departement of pediatrics. He did research on diabetes in children, resulting in his doctorate (dr.med) in 1903.

Frølich then joined professor Axel Holst (1860–1931) at the University Institute of Hygiene to study scurvy, suspected of being a nutritional deficiency among fishermen, then called shipboard beri-beri. Holst and Frølich established an animal model that allowed systematic study of factors that led to the ship-related dietary disease, as well as the preventive value of different substances. They discovered that scurvy occurred in guinea pigs when fed solely with various types of grain, either whole or baked into bread, and these symptoms were prevented when the diet was supplemented with known antiscorbutics like fresh cabbage or lemon juice. Frølich published his results in 1910 and 1912 and identified vitamin C before the essential idea of vitamins had been introduced, maybe the single most important piece of vitamin C research.[2]

In 1920 Frølich was appointed Professor of pediatrics at the Oslo University. He engaged in research on tuberculosis, became president of Nasjonalforeningen mot tuberkulosen (the National Society Against Tuberculosis), and initiated the preventive Tuberculin skin test for school children. In Norway Frølich was also renowned for Dr. Frølichs Cough Syrup, a sweetened extract of Carapichea ipecacuanha.