History of Insulin By lainieb444 1500 Fed a cup of cooking oil Before insulin was discovered, this is how they treated it. Fail 1600 Thomas Willis discovered the smell of urine of diabetics 1706 John Rollo treated first patient with dietary restriction. 1800 Claude Bernard discovered that the liver stored glycogen and secreted a sugary substance into the blood 1879 Von Mering discovered Bernard's liver theory and that removing the pancreas caused diabetes 1921 Fredrick Banting, Macloud, and Charles Best prepared an extract from the panaceas of a dog Jan 11, 1922 First human patient receives insulin from Banting and Best Failed Jan 23, 1922 Purified injections made Glucose levels dropped 1923 Insulin was being produced commercially and use to treat diabetes Used in most Western countries 1926 Insulin was crystallized by J.J.Abel 1936 Protamine zinc introduced Longer acting 1954 Lente insulins were introduced 1957 Easier to measure small amounts of insulin - immunoassay