VITAMINS

Vitamins are the organic compounds that always taken from outside the body along with food in small quantity. They are required in balanced amount and are very essential to metabolism of body. Their deficiency and excess both cause metabolic disorders. The earliest known vitamin is vitamin C but earliest extracted vitamin is vitamin B1.

Classification of vitamin – On the basis of solubility, vitamins are of two types-

(A) Fat soluble vitamins- They are insoluble in water but only soluble in organic solvents like chloroform or alcohol. They are oily in nature

(B) Water soluble vitamins- They are soluble in water.

(A) Fat soluble vitamins- Fat soluble vitamins are following types:

          

(a) Vitamin A (Retinol) or Antixeropthalmic vitamin- It is a fat soluble vitamin, exits in nature as such or in provitamin form and as carotene pigment mainly found in green pigment. This vitamin was recognized bat McCollum and Davis in1913.

This vitamin influences the growth of the body and protects from infections. Therefore, t is known as anti-infective vitamin and growth vitamin. It is also necessary for the maintenance of normal epithelial tissues of the organs including conjunctiva and cornea. Rational combines with posing protein to from rhodopsin (visual purple) of rod cells of retina. Thus it is essential for night vision.

Sources: Animal sources are fish, cod lever oil, egg yolk, butter, ghee, milk, etc. Plant sources are carotenoids (Provitamin A) found in green leafy vegetables, papaya, tomatoes, carrot, etc.

Deficiency or Avitaminosis: the deficiency of retinol causes permanent dryness of cornea of eyes called Xerophthalmia but extreme case it causes destruction of cornea called Keratomalacia. Deficiency of Vitamin A also results in the decrease of rhodopsin and thus person suffers from night blindness (Nyctalpin).

(b) Vitamin D (Calciferol) or Antirachitic Vitamin: This vitamin was also discovered by McCollum and his co-workers. Since its deficiency caused disease rickets in man, it is known as antirachitic vitamin. This vitamin plays important role in calcium phosphate metabolism. It controls the deposition of calcium and phosphorus in tissue. It is also essential for normal formation of bone and teeth.

Sources of Vitamin D: it is found in Fish liver, butter, eggs, and milk. The pro vitamin D (ergosetrol) is commonly found in plants (e.g. ergot and yeast) which are transformed into vitaminD under the influence of UV radiation in vegetables.

Deficiency of Vitamin D: Its deficiency causes rickets or rachitis in children in which proper calcification of bone does not occur. In adults, its deficiency leads to osteomalacea. It is characterized by the softening of bones specially pelvic girdles, ribs and femur leading to deformities in the body posture. (

(c) Vitamin E (Tocopherol ):  This vitamin was discovered by Evans and Sure in 1922. This vitamin is also now as antisterilitic factor or beauty vitamin because it prevents sterility in females and maintains the normal health of the sex organs and ensures the normal condition.

Sources of Vitamin E: It is usually found in vegetable seed oils, corn oil and oil of wheat grains and green leafy vegetables.

Deficiency: Deficiency of vitamin E causes reversible sterility in females which is characterized by ovulation, fertilization and implantation but foetus resorbed in the uterus after sometime. In male its deficiency causes destruction of germinal epithelium of testes and thus failure to produce spermatozoa resulting sterility.

Vitamin K (Antihaemorrhagic) or Phylloquinone: This vitamin is necessary for the formation of Prothrombin in liver which participates in blood clotting. Dam 1934 discovered and named this vitamin K from the term koagulation it is available in two forms- K1 and K2. Both are the derivatives of naphthaquinone.

Sources: It is mainly available in vegetable sources like green leafy vegetables like, sunflower, spinach, etc. it is rich in animal sources like, liver, egg yolk, etc. it is also synthesized d by symbiotic bacteria of intestine (colon) 

Deficiency: Deficiency of vitamin causes failure of blood clotting called hypoprothrombinaemia even after minor injuries resulting into profuse bleeding that is called haemorrhage.


                                     VITAMINS and their characteristics

Name	Main occurrence	Effectiveness	Lack	Overdosing	Increased need	Characteristics	Daily need
Vitamin A(Retinol)	Cod-liver oil, liver, kidney, milk products, butter, yolk, as provitamine A in carrots	Normal growth, function and protection of skin, eyes and mucous membrane	Growth stop, night blindness	Impaired visions, headache, nausea, vomitus, tiredness, skin change	Smoker, vegetarian, in case of high alcohol consumption, intake of cathartic, birth control pill, antibiotics	Fat-soluble, light and oxygen-sensitively	approx. 1 - 5mg
Vitamin B1(Thiamin)	Wheat germs, wholemeal cereals, peas, heart, pork, barm, oatmeal, liver, brown rice	Important for the nerve system, liver damage, inefficiency, pregnancy, mosquito protection (high-dosed), production of energy, affects the carbohydrates metabolism, important for the thyroid function	Heavy muscle- and nerve disturbances, tiredness, dyspepsias, dropsy, cardiac insufficiency, cramps, paralyses, prickle in arms and legs	none	Diet, youth, pregnant and nursing women, alcohol consumption, intake of birth control pill, antibiotics, chemotherapye	Water-soluble, Thiamin gets destroyed by heat and long storage, but not by freezing. Daily intake of vitamin B1 is important, because the body can´t store B1, which comes over the food	approx. 2mg (At carbohydrates-packed nutrition some more)
Vitamin B2(Riboflavin)	Milk products, Meat, wholemeal cereal, cheese, eggs, liver, sea-fish, green leafy vegetables, whey powder	Important for body growth, untilization of fats, protein and carbohydrates, well for skin, eyes and nails, important energy bringer, oxygen transport	(rarely) skin inflammation, brittle nails, anaemia, callus attrition	not known	Pregnancy, intake of birth control pill and antibiotics, chemotherapy, fever, smoker, old people	Water-soluble, food with Vitamin B2 should be stored cool and dark.	approx. 2 mg
Name	Main occurrence	Effectiveness	Lack	Overdosing	Increased need	Characteristics	Daily need
Vitamin B3(Niacin, Nicotine acid)	Barm, peanuts, peas, liver, poultry, fish, lean meat	Building and degradation of fat, protein and carbohydrates, good sleep	Skin and mucosa inflammation, headache, trembling, vertigo, sleep disturbance, depressions, feeling of prickle and deafness in the limbs	(with over 100mg a day) pruritus, nausea, allergies	Labor, fever, nursing women	Water-soluble, effect is outweighed by sugar and alcohol	13 - 16 mg
Vitamin B5(Pantothen acid)	Liver, vegetable, wheat germs, asparagus, crabs, meat, sunflower cores, Pumpernickel	Against turning grey, hair loss, hair and mucous membrane illnesses, necessarily for the dismantling of fat, proteins and carbohydrates	Nerve malfunctions, bad healing of wounds, early turning grey, weakened immune system	Over urine excreted	Old people, pregnant and nursing women, burden, drinking much coffee an tea	Water-soluble, heat-sensitive	approx. 10 mg
Vitamin B6(Pyridoxin)	Bananas, nuts, wholemeal products, yeast, liver, potatos, green beans, cauliflower, carrots	Travel sickness, neuralgia, liver damage, premenstrual syndrome, digestion of protein, most important hormone in pregnancy together with folic acid, detoxication	(rather rarely) intestine problems, bad skin, tiredness, rough corners of the mouth	With intake of this for a longer time in form of tablets it can deposit in the body tissue and lead to nerve damages.	Period of growth, intake of birth control pill, cortisone, during physical and mental load, before the menstruation	Water-soluble, neither heat nor light-resisting	approx. 2 mg
Name	Main occurrence	Effectiveness	Lack	Overdosing	Increased need	Characteristics	Daily need
Vitamin B7(Biotin, Vitamin H)	Liver, cauliflower, champignons, wholemeal products, eggs, avocado, spinach, milk	Skin deseases, loss in growth of hairs, liver damage, assists metabolism, carbohydrate and fatty acid activity, together with vitamin K it is needed for building up the clotting factors	States of exhausting, skin inflammations, muscular pains, hair loss, nausea	not known	Intake of birth control pill, antibiotics and cathartics	Water-soluble	approx. 0,5 mg
Vitamin B9(Folic acid, Vitamin M)	Liver, wheat germs, cucurbit, champignons, spinach, avocado	Liver damage, cell division, healing and growth of muscles and cells, protein metabolism	Anaemia, digesting disturbances, disturbances of hair -, bone and cartilage growth	Allgergies, sleep disturbances and bad moods (with more than 15 mg a day)	Pregnant and nursing women, smoker, youth	Water-soluble, do not tolerate with heat, light or oxygen	approx. 160 µg
Vitamin B12(Cobalamin)	Liver, milk, yolk, fish, meat, oysters, quark, barm	Building substance of cytoblast and erythrocyte, nerve pains, skin and mucosa inflammation, liver damage	Aenaemia, nerve disturbances, nervous disturbances, changes in the lung and the spinal marrows	Not possible, because it will be excreted by the body	Diabetics, pregnant and nursing women, vegetarian, vegan, intake of birth controll pill, antibiotics and anti cramp means, chemotherapy	Not water-soluble, heatproof	approx. 5 µg
Name	Main occurrence	Effectiveness	Lack	Overdosing	Increased need	Characteristics	Daily need
Vitamin C(ascorbic acid)	Dogroses, sea buckthorn, citric fruits, black currants, potatoes, paprika, tomatoes, collard, spinach, vegetables, radish	Inflammation and bleeding-restraining, assists the body's defences, protects cells against chemical destruction, activates enzymes, structure of connective tissue, bones and dental enamel, faster healing of wounds, stabilisation of psyche	Gum-bleed, tiredness, joint pain and headache, bad healing of wounds, lack of appetite, scurvy, inefficiency	In the case of overdosing in form of powder and pills nausea, vomiting and urine stones can be the result.	Smoker, pregnant and nursing women, older people, diets, alcohol consumption, intake of birth control pill, antibiotics, cortisone, analgesics and barbiturates	Water-soluble, oxygen and dryness-sensitively, not for a long time store	approx. 75 mg - 200 mg
Vitamin D(Calciferol)	Cod-liver oil, liver, milk, yolk, butter, sea fish, herring, champignons, avocado	Regulation of calcium- und phosphat household, structure of bone, assits admission of calcium	Bone curvature and softening, increased infection sensitivity, amyasthenia	(only with man-made Vitamin D) Calcium deposists in bones, heart muscle, blood vessels, stomach, headache, vomiting, swindle, gastro-intestinal diseases	Babies, older humans, intake of birth control pill, cathartic, antibiotics, barbiturate	Fat-soluble, light sensitively, heatproof	approx. 5 µg
Vitamin E(Tocopherole)	Sunflowers -, corn -, Soja and wheat germ oil, nuts, flaxseed, salsify, peperoni, collard, avocado	Stabilization of the immune system, anti-inflammatory, cell replacement, protection from radicals, modulates cholesterol level and hormone household, important for blood vessels, muscles and reproduction organs	(rarely) amblyopia, tiredness, amyotrohia, dislike, reproduction problems	(particularly by synthetically manufactured caps) bad healing of wounds, deficiency symptoms, swindle, nausea	intake of cathartics and blood-fat-lowering medicines, high consumption of alcohol	Fat-soluble, it is destroyed by open storage, deep-freezing or cooking with much fat	10 - 30 mg (with fat-enrich nutrition more)
Vitamin K(Phyllochinone)	Eggs, liver, green collard, green vegetable, bulbs, oatmeal, kiwi, tomatoes, cress	Necessary for formation of the blood clotting factors	High doses of vitamin A and E work against vitamin K.	With intake for a longer time, it can become toxid, bleedings, hot flashes, renal diseases	Babies, high consumption of alcohol, intake of birth control pill, antibiotics and carthartics	Fat-soluble, food with Vitamin K schould be stored darkly	approx. 2 mg