Relating to a substance or treatment that prevents or cures pellagra, a disease caused by niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency.
From 'anti' (against) + 'pellagra' (from Italian 'pelle agra' meaning rough skin), referring to the disease's characteristic skin symptoms. The term emerged in medical science in the early 1900s.
Pellagra killed thousands of poor Americans in the South until 1937, when scientists proved niacin deficiency caused it—proving that diseases of poverty could be prevented by something as simple as fortifying flour with a vitamin!
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