MICRONUTRIENTS

VITAMINS

VITAMINS
VITAMINS are group of unrelated organic compounds needed only in minute quantities in the diet but essential for specific metabolic reactions within cell and necessary for normal growth and maintenance of health. Vitamins do not have calorie value but they are necessary for energy utilization.

VITAMINS
The word vitamin comes from a combination of the latin word Vita meaning life and the suffix amine which means a nitrogen compound. Vitamins do not give the body energy. They merely convert food into energy. You cannot increase physical capacity by taking extra vitamins. How ever if you are short of vitamins, you may suffer fatigue.

TERMS ACCOUNTED FOR VITAMINS

Precursors of provitamins are compounds that can be changed to the active vitamins

Ex. Carotenes cryptoxantin are precursor of vitamin A. Ergosterol when radiated becomes vitamin D.

Preformed Vitamins are naturally occurring vitamins that are inactive form and ready for its biological used.

Avitaminosis a condition resulting from lack of a vitamin in its later stage when more defined signs and symptoms occur such that a nutritional deficiency disease is recognizable. Ex. Avitaminosis A leads to night blindness and xeropthalmin. Avitaminosis C refers to scurvy and avitaminosis B is Beri-beri.

Hypervitaminosis sometimes referred to as vitamin toxicity this condition is result of excessive accumulation of a vitamin in the body.

 Vitamin

malnutrition the prefix mal meaning bad denotes that too much or too little is not good for the health. compounds some substances have physiological roles like vitamins but they are present in larger amounts and are partially synthesized in the body. These include Inositol, Choline, Lipoic Acid and Ubiquinone. or Vitamin antagonist are substance that interfere the normal functioning of a vitamin. They need to be similar in chemical composition as the vitamin it antagonized.

Vitamin-like

Antivitamins

Ex Dicumerol against Vitamin K, Avidin against Biotin and Thiaminase against thiamin or Vit B1.

NOMENCLATURE OF THE VITAMINS

ORIGINAL NAME
Vitamin A (anti infective)

CURRENT NAME
Vitamin A (retinol)

Vit. B1 (anti beri-beri antineuritic ) Vit. B1 (thiamine) Riboflavin Vit. C (B2) Pelagra Preventive Factor Niacin (nicotinic acid, niacinamide Vit. B6 (byridoxine)

Vit. B complex

Vit. B12 (9cyanocabalamin) Folasin (Folinic Acid, peroylglutamic acid, ) Biotin

Ascorbic Acid

Vit. C

Vit. D
Vit. E Vit. K

Vit.D (Calciferol)
Vit. E (Tocopherol) Vit. K (meniquinonone and Phylloquinonones

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Vitamins was normally called accessory food factors because their presence in minute quantities is easily overlooked.

The word vitamin was originated by Casimir Funk in 1912 when

he was coined from vita meaning necessary for life and amine denoting anti Beri-beri factor contained nitrogen. He hypothesized that nutritional deficiencies which where observed in the past such as scurvy, pellegra, and rickets, resulted from lack of vitamine. Not all these dietary factor contained nitrogen hence the final letter e was dropped and we now have the word Vitamin.

CLASSIFICATION OF VITAMINS ON THE BASIS OF SOLUBILITY

WATER SOLUBLE VITAMINS

FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS

A D E K

B C

GENERAL PROPERTIES AND STABILITY

Besides

solubility properties, fat soluble vitamins differ from water soluble vits. Based on the ff. criteria:

1. Fat soluble vitamins generally have precursors or provitamins. 2. Because they can be stored in the body, deficiencies are slow to develop. 3 They are not absolutely needed daily from food sources. 4. They are generally stable, especially in ordinary cooking methods.

WATER SOLUBLE VITAMINS HAVE THE FF. GENERAL PROPERTIES

1.

They must be supplied every day in the diet. 2. They do not have precursors. 3. They are not stored significantly in the body and any excess is excreted in the urine. 4. Deficiency, Symptoms develop relatively fast. 5. Being water soluble , They are most likely to be destroyed in ordinary cooking.

A. FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS

Chemical and Physical Nature

Absorption and Storage

STABILITY

PHYSIOLOGIC FUNCTION

1 Preformed Vit. A animal sources 2. Provitamin A precursor carotene; pigment found in green and yellow plants body converts Vit. A. Beta carotene phytochemical s found in dark green plants which is an anti- cancer.

Absorption aided by bile salts, pancreatic lipase and dietary fat. Carotene converted to vit. A in intestinal wall. Absorbed through lymphatic system and portal blood to liver. Large storage capacity in liver hence, potential toxicity levels with large intake

>Stable to light and heal but prolonged heating in contact with air destroys it. >It is easy to destroy by oxidation and UV light. >A cool atmosphere and refrigeration tend to preserve it. >Vit. E maybe used with Vit. A to preserved it.

1. Vision Cycle 2. Epithelial tissue necessary material for proper synthesis and maintenance of epithelial tissue, hence, integrity of the skin and internal mucosa, growth and formation of tooth buds. (anti Aging) 3. Anti Oxidant 4. Growth and bone development 5. Assure Reproduction and Lactation

VISION CYCLE
necessary component of visual purple . It is a light sensitive pigment in the retina enabling it to make adjustments to light and dark. Retinal is a prosthetic group of visual pigments of photo sensive pigments both rods (rhodopsia) and cones (iodopsia). The reaction involves the oxidation-reaction system of retinol-retinal and stereo chemical changes of vit. A molecule. When there is a deficiency of Vit. A The rods and cones cannot adjust to light changes, resulting Color blindness and other defects of vision cannot be cured by vit. A.
Rhodopsia

DEFICIENCY
1. Results to: Poor adaptation or night blindness. 2. Eye lesions. Most critical in avitaminosis. >the cornea of the eye affected early. 3. Retarded growth 4. Lower resistance to infection. 5. Faulty skeletal and dental development. 6. Keratinization of epithelial linings. 7. Disturbances in the respiratory, GI and genitourinary tracts 8.Skin Lesions Characterized as foods skin clinically known as pharynoderma, the skin is dry and rough with popular eruption occurring around the hair follicles. The site of dermal changes thighs, abdomen, upper arm and back.

TOXICITY
1. Violent headache 2. Nausea and vomiting 3. Thickening of the skin with peeling off 4. Swollen painful long bones 5. Coarse sparse hair 6. Enlargement of the spleen and liver. 7. In young girls there is a cessation of menstruation 8. Hypercarotenimia from the ingestion of large amount of foods containing carotene merely results in deposition of carotene in tissues, particularly the skin and eyes, and gives the person a disturbing yet harmless orange appearance .

FOOD SOURCES
Preformed Vit. A- animal sources (liver, egg yolk milk cream butter and cheese) Fotified margarine or skim milk fortified with vit. A are common foods that are ideal carriers of Vit. A. Fishes dilis, clams, tahong and other shell fish Precursors of Provitamin A green yellow vetables dark green leaves of malunggay, kamote kangkong, pechay, kalabasa ,spinaka, alugbati ,gabi, saluyot ,ampalaya are among philippine favorites. Yellow fruits of foreign origin reach in Vit. A are apricots, peaches and nectarines

Functions of cornea to the eye are: creating smooth refractive surface in order for image to focus properly on retina permeability barrier barrier entry of pathogen shield the eye from harmful germs, dust and other foreign matter CORNEA is the transparent membrane opening on the front part, covering the eye. It is important for the maintenance of its transparency to ensure proper vision. It has No blood vessels. Consist of 22% solid and 78% water.

Hypercarotenimia

SEA FOODS WITH VITAMIN A

CLAMS TAHONG