WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS

> The water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C or ascorbic acid and the B complex vitamins.

> Vitamin C is called the “fresh food vitamin” since it is found in the growing parts of plants.

> Vitamin C performs a number of biological roles as well as serve as an antioxidant.

> The B-complex vitamins important in human nutrition are thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin
B12, niacin-folic acid, pantothenic acid, choline, inositol, and biotin.

> They are found together in nature and generally have related functions although they are chemically
unrelated.

VITAMIN C (Ascorbic Acid)

a. Chemical and physical nature.

a.1 Water-soluble acid, easily oxidized, unstable.

a.2 Other animals can synthesize vitamin C from glucose but humans lack the necessary enzyme.

b. Absorption and storage

b.1 Easily absorbed by the small intestine

b.2 Not stored in tissue depots; distributed to tissue saturation levels in general circulation,

remainder being excreted; large amounts present in adrenal tissues.

c. Physiologic functions

c.1 Vitamin C is needed in the formation and maintenance of intercellular cementing substance.
This cementing substance is simply explained as a “binder” that holds cells in proper relation to
each other as to cellular fluids which bathe and nourish them.

c.2 It converts acid into its active form, folinic acid.

c.3 It aids in the healing of wounds and bone fractures.

c.4 It prevents megaloblastic anemia and pinpoint hemorrhage also called petechial
hemorrhages.

c.5 Vitamin C helps build body resistance against infections.

c.6 It helps produce steroid hormones, particularly adrenocortical hormones under severe stress
as well as aids in insulin synthesis.

c.7 Vitamin C is necessary for tyrosine and phenylalanine metabolism.

c.8 It improves iron absorption. It makes iron more available for hemoglobin and red blood cell
maturation.
 c.9 Vitamin C plays a vital role in brain metabolism.

c.10 Vitamin C has an antioxidant action.

d. Stability

Much ascorbic acid is lost in cooking or thrown out in the cooking water. Bruising, cutting, and
allowing fruit and vegetables to be exposed to the air cause much loss of ascorbic acid. Vitamin C
is less destroyed when food is cooked quickly in small amounts of boiling water and covered
tightly. Quick freezing of food preserves the vitamins; refrigeration aids retention. The use of
sodium bicarbonate in cooking vegetables to preserve and improve their color is very destructive
of the vitamin. The ascorbic acid content of fruits and vegetables varies with the conditions
under which they are grown, degree of ripeness when harvested, and conditions under which
they are stored and cooked.

RECOMMENDED VITAMIN C INTAKES FOR SPECIFIC POPULATION GROUPS

Population Group Reference Weight (kg) RNI mg/ day

Infants, mo
Birth - < 6 6 30
6 - <12 9 30
Children, y
1-3 13 30
4-6 19 30
7-9 24 35
Males, y
10-12 34 45
13-15 50 65
16-18 58 75
19 and over 59 75
Females, y
10-12 35 45
13-15 49 65
16-18 50 70
19 and over 51 70
Pregnant Women 80
Lactating Women
1st 6 mos 105

e. Deficiency

e.1 Irritability

e.2 General weakness

 e.3 Lack of appetite

e.4 Lowered resistance to infections

e.5 Pallor

e.6 Scurvy (bleeding, swollen gums, loose teeth, swollen and tender joints, internal hemorrhages
underneath the skin, capillary fragility, and megaloblastic anemia.)

f. Toxicity

There is no toxicity or hypervitaminosis C since the vitamin cannot be stored in the body.

g. Requirement or allowance

In general, males need more vitamin C than females do. Vitamin C needs are also increased
during the growth period, with the older age groups requiring more. Physiological stresses like
pregnancy and lactation and other stress factors such as surgery, illness, infection, shock, and
injuries need higher vitamin C intakes.

VITAMIN C VALUES OF COMMON FOOD SOURCES IN SERVING PORTIONS**

Fresh fruits, eaten raw (in common serving portions) Vitamin C (mg)**
Annona or atis (1/2 c = 55 gm) 105
Balimbing (3 pcs) 43
Banana, latundan (1pc, large = 1gm) 15
Cabbage, finely shredded (1 c) 42
Calamansi juce (1/2 c) 45
Cashew (1pc, small) 98
Chili, green pepper (1 pc, medium) 42
Dalanghita, sinkom (1pc, medium) 35
Dayap (lime juice) (1/2 c) 52
Durian (1 slice, medium = 100 gm) 44
Guava, red (4 pcs, small) 126
Kamatsili (8 pods or bunga) 133
Lemon juice (1/2 c = 100 gm) 45
Lettuce (shredded, ½ c) 18
Mango, ripe (piko) (1 pc, small = 100 gm) 50
Melon (1/2 pc) 63
Orange juice (1/2 c) 100
Papaya, ripe (1 slice = 80 gm) 89
Pomelo (5 segments) 42
Tomato (2 pcs, medium) 29
Cooked Vegetables (all in ½ c serving portions)
Alugbati leaves 76
Bitter gourd (ampalaya) leaves 66
Cauliflower 33
Gabi leaves 39
 Malunggay leaves 67
Mongo sprouts (toge) 22
Sitaw, talbos 36

VITAMIN B COMPLEX

The B complex consists of the vitamins B1, B6, B12, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, and
biotin. It is a group of water-soluble vitamins that need to be continually replaced because of their short
“life”. Though they all belong to one group, each vitamin has its own unique function.

The B vitamins transform increased amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into extra
energy. They provide energy necessary for muscle contraction. But during exertion, they are also
involved in the production and repair of tissues, particularly muscular tissues.

They are water-soluble nutrients that play important roles in the normal growth and
maintenance of body processes.

Boiling meat results in about 15% to 40% loss of vitamin B. In frying, as high as 40% to 50% us
lost while in roasting, approximately 30% to 60% is lost. Some of the lost vitamins are blend with the
cooking liquids, so it is best to turn these liquids into sauces or gravies.

B-COMPLEX VITAMINS

A. Group I: Classic Disease Factors

1. Thiamine (B1)

a. Functions

a.1 Thiamine is an integral part of the coenzyme factor, thiamine pyrophosphate or TPP, needed
for carbohydrates metabolism.

a.2 It helps maintain healthy appetite, good muscle tone, especially of the GI tract, and normal
functioning of nerves.

b. Stability

Loss of vitamin in cooking is highly variable, depending on the pH of the food, time,
temperature, quantity of water used and discarded, and the use of sodium bicarbonate to
enhance the green color of vegetables. Freezing has little or no effect on the thiamine content of
foods.

c. Deficiency

c.1 Loss of appetite

c.2 Weakness

c.3 Easy fatigability

c.4 Indigestion
 c.5 Severe constipation

c.6 Gastric atony

c.7 Poor reflexes and irritability

c.8 Retarded growth

c.9 Numbness of extremities

c.10 Beriberi-also called nutritional polyneuritis

Types of Beriberi

* Infantile beriberi usually occurs in infants 2 to 5 months of age whose main food is milk from a
mother suffering from beriberi. Symptoms are loss of voice (aphonia), whining cry, bluish discoloration of
infant (cyanosis), difficulty in breathing, and even death in a few hours.

* Wet beriberi is evidenced by edema of both lower extremities, which progresses upwards to
body cavities such as the abdomen and chest. The heart is enlarged, and heart beats become irregular.
There is also difficulty in breathing.

* Dry beriberi involves the peripheral nerves. There is a feeling of “pins and needles”
(paresthesia) in toes, gradual loss of touch sensation, muscle weakness, and finally, paralysis.

d. Toxicity

There are no toxic reactions of excessive thiamine intake in the body.

e. Requirement or allowances

Experimental pieces of evidence show that the minimum thiamine requirement is 0.2 mg per
1,000 caloric intakes. Allowances are at least twice the minimum needs (0.5 mg/1,000 cal) and
vary with sex, body weight, muscular activity, and composition of diet which are related to
caloric requirements.

Among the factors that will increase thiamine requirements as long as caloric needs are
increased include pregnancy, lactation, fever, infections, alcoholism, hyperthyroidism, and
polyneuropathies. These physiological variations for thiamine needs are reflected in RDAs.

f. Food sources

Outstanding food sources are lean pork, pork liver, and other glandular organs of pork and some
shellfish. Other excellent sources are liver and organ meats of other animals, egg yolk and
unpolished rice, whole grains, legumes (like monggo, kadyos, and soybeans) and nuts. The
enrichment or fortification of cereals like rice and wheat flour requires additional thiamine.

RECOMMENDED THIAMINE INTAKES FOR SPECIFIC POPULATION GROUPS

Population Group Reference Weight (kg) RNI mg/ day

Infants, mo
Birth - < 6 6 0.2
 6 - <12 9 0.4
Children, y
1-3 13 0.5
4-6 19 0.6
7-9 24 0.7
Males, y
10-12 34 0.9
13-15 50 1.2
16-18 58 1.4
19 and over 59 1.2
Females, y
10-12 35 0.9
13-15 49 1.0
16-18 50 1.1
19 and over 51 1.1
Pregnant Women 1.4
Lactating Women 1.5

2. Riboflavin (B2)

a. Functions

a.1 An essential component of coenzymes, flavin, mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine
dinucleotide (FAD), riboflavin is essential for protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism.

a.2 It is needed for conversion of tryptophan into niacin.

a.3 It helps maintain healthy skin, tongue and mouth, and normal vision; and proper growth and
development.

b. Stability

It is stable to heat, oxidation and acid. Due to its heat stability and limited water solubility, very
little is lost in cooking and processing of foods. However, because it is sensitive to alkali, the
addition of baking soda to soften dried peas or beans for faster cooking destroys much of their
riboflavin content.

RECOMMENDED RIBOFLAVIN INTAKES FOR SPECIFIC POPULATION GROUPS

Population Group Reference Weight (kg) RNI mg/ day

Infants, mo
Birth - < 6 6 0.3
6 - <12 9 0.4
Children, y
1-3 13 0.5
4-6 19 0.6
7-9 24 0.7
Males, y
 10-12 34 1.0
13-15 50 1.3
16-18 58 1.5
19 and over 59 1.3
Females, y
10-12 35 0.9
13-15 49 1.0
16-18 50 1.1
19 and over 51 1.1
Pregnant Women 1.7
Lactating Women 1.7

c. Deficiency

Ariboflavinosis is characterized by tissue changes particularly in the skin, eyes, mouth, nose, and
tongue. The skin develops seborrheic dermatitis (scaly, greasy, skin with burning sensation and
corneal vascularization or extra blood vessels over the cornea). Vascularization gets so severe
that there is accompanying photophobia and dimness of vision. The tongue is swollen and
becomes magenta red (glossitis). The other lesion is called cheilosis when lips are swollen and
corners of the mouth cracked.

d. Toxicity

Toxicity of riboflavin does not occur from oral doses but is possible when massive doses are
given by injection. However, its ill-defined effects are not as serious as what is experienced in
hypervitaminoses A and D.

e. Food sources

Animal sources – cheese, milk, eggs, and other glandular organs.

Plant sources – whole grains, legumes, leafy green vegetables, and seaweeds.

3. Niacin (nicotinic acid)

a. Functions

a.1 It acts as hydrogen and electron acceptor. It plays an important role in energy metabolism,
fatty acid synthesis/ oxidation, and protein synthesis/ catabolism.

a.2 It is also needed for photosynthesis in plants and fixation of CO2 in animal cells.

b. Stability

Niacin is more stable than thiamine and riboflavin and is remarkably resistant to heat, light, air,
acids, and alkalis, although small amounts may be lost in discarded cooking water.

RECOMMENDED NIACIN INTAKES FOR SPECIFIC POPULATION GROUPS

Population Group Reference Weight (kg) RNI mg/ day

 Infants, mo
Birth - < 6 6 1.5
6 - <12 9 5
Children, y
1-3 13 6
4-6 19 7
7-9 24 9
Males, y
10-12 34 12
13-15 50 16
16-18 58 16
19 and over 59 16
Females, y
10-12 35 12
13-15 49 14
16-18 50 14
19 and over 51 14
Pregnant Women 18
Lactating Women 17

c. Deficiency

c.1 Anorexia

c.2 Indigestion

c.3 Skin changes

c.4 Pellagra – classic deficiency disease characterized by 4 Ds, namely dermatitis, dementia,
diarrhea, and even death. The skin changes are different from other types of dermatitis because
of the blackish or dark, scaly patches that appear symmetrically in areas exposed to sunlight
called bilateral dermatitis. The tongue is beefy red and swollen (glossitis) and the corners of the
mouth are cracked (angular stomatitis).

d. Toxicity

d.1 Hypermotility

d.2 Acidity of the stomach

d.3 Paralysis in the respiratory center

e. Food sources

Animal sources- liver, glandular organs, lean meats, fish and poultry, milk and cheese, eggs.

Plant sources – legumes, nuts, whole grains, enriched cereals, and green vegetables.
B. Group II: More Recently Discovered Coenzyme Factors

1. Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6)

a. Functions

a.1 Pyridoxine plays an essential role in many of the complex biochemical processes by which
foods are metabolized by the body.

a.2 It is found in the cells in active form. Pyridoxine phosphate (PLP) is a coenzyme that functions
in protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism.

a.3 It is a coenzyme for many chemical reactions related to protein metabolism.

a.4 It is essential for the formation of tryptophan and for the conversion of tryptophan into
nicotinic acid.

b. Deficiency

No deficiency state has been observed in adult by dietary depletion. Induced experimental
deficiency by injecting an antagonist result in nausea, vomiting, seborrheic or oily dermatitis,
glossitis, conjunctivitis, and depressive moods.

In infants, the deficiency state which results from feeding them milk formula lacking in
pyridoxine for several weeks, causes irritability, poor growth, anemia and convulsions.

c. Toxicity

Toxicity is observed only in rats.

d. Food sources

Vegetable oils of corn, cottonseed, linseed, olive, peanut, wheat and rice germ, lard, and
legumes, especially soybeans and nuts.

2. Pantothenic acid

a. Functions

a.1 Pantothenic acid is essential for carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism.

a.2 It helps maintain normal growth, healthy skin, and integrity of the central nervous system.

a.3 As part of coenzyme A, it has many metabolic roles in the cells.

b. Stability

Water-soluble, stable in moist heat.

c. Deficiency

c.1 Insomnia

c.2 Muscle cramps

 c.3 Tingling sensation of the extremities

c.4 Vomiting

d. Toxicity

No toxic effects of this substance are known.

e. Requirement or allowances

Five milligram of pantothenic acid a day is sufficient for an adult. Daily mixed diets may contain
as much as 15 mg which is more than adequate.

f. Sources

Liver, other glandular organs, meats, eggs, milk, cheese, and legumes.

3. Lipoic acid

This is a sulfur-containing fatty acid and is not a true vitamin because it can be synthesized in
adequate amounts in the body. However, it is like the other vitamins. A coenzyme factor
(thiamine-pyrophosphatase), lipoic acid is a coenzyme in energy metabolism converting pyruvic
acid into acetyl CoA. The requirement for lipoic acid for humans is not yet set although its
biological role is known. The concentrated sources of lipoic acid are yeast and liver.

4. Biotin

a. Functions

a.1 It serves as a coenzyme factor in CO2 fixation.

a.2 Together with active acetate (CoA), it helps in the synthesis of purines, pyrimidines, fatty
acids, and carboxylation reactions

b. Stability

It is stable to heat, soluble in water and alcohol, and susceptible to oxidation, alkali, and strong
acids.

c. Deficiency

In humans, true biotin deficiency does not occur, even in poor diet.

d. Toxicity

No toxic effects of excessive biotin have been observed in humans.

e. Requirements or allowances

The very minute amount of biotin needed for physiology makes it difficult to determine the
requirements. It is suggested that 150 to 300 micrograms a day is ample.

f. Food sources

Liver and other glandular organs, egg yolk, milk, molasses, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.
C. Group III: Cell Growth and Blood-forming Factors

1. Folic acid

a. Functions

a.1 Folic acid plays a vital role in the transfer of one-carbon unit to appropriate metabolites in
the synthesis of DAN, RNA, methionine, and serine; the enzymes which utilize felacin coenzymes
are known as pteroproteins.

a.2 It is required for one-step conversion of histidine into glutamic acid.

a.3 It is essential for the formation of both RBC and WBC in the bone marrow and for their
maturation.

b. Stability

It is unstable to heat in acid media and stable to sunlight when in solution. There is a
considerable loss of folic acid in vegetables during storage at room temperature. Loss occurs in
processing food at high temperature. In dried milk, for example, folic acid activity is destroyed.

c. Deficiency

c.1 Poor growth

c.2 Megaloblastic anemia and other blood disorders

c.3 Glossitis

c.4 GIT disturbances arising from inadequate dietary intake

c.5 Impaired absorption

c.6 Excessive demands by tissues of the body

c.7 Metabolic derangements

d. Sources

It occurs widely in foods and an adequate supply is easily obtained. The best sources are liver,
kidney beans, lima beans, and fresh, dark green leafy vegetables especially spinach, asparagus,
and broccoli. Other good sources are lean beef, potatoes, whole-wheat bread, and dried beans.
Poor sources include most meats, milk, eggs, most fruits, and root vegetables.

RECOMMENDED FOLATE INTAKES FOR SPECIFIC POPULATION GROUPS

Population Group Reference Weight (kg) RNI mg/ day

Infants, mo
Birth - < 6 6 65
6 - <12 9 80
Children, y
1-3 13 160
4-6 19 200
 7-9 24 300
Males, y
10-12 34 400
13-15 50 400
16-18 58 400
19 and over 59 400
Females, y
10-12 35 400
13-15 49 400
16-18 50 400
19 and over 51 400
Pregnant Women 600
Lactating Women 500

2. Cobalamin (B12)

a. Functions

a.1 Cobalamin is essential for normal metabolism and growth of all cells, especially those in the
GI tract, bone marrow, and nervous tissue.

a.2 Along with folic acid, choline, and methionine, cobalamin aids in the transfer of methyl
groups in the synthesis of nucleic acids, purines, and pyrimidine intermediates.

a.3 It is involved in myelin formation.

a.4 Cobalamin is essential for carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism, and is associated with
folic acid absorption and metabolism,

b. Stability

Approximately 70% of the vitamin activity is retained during cooking.

c. Deficiency

c.1 Demyelination of the large nerve fibers of the spinal cord.

c.2 Pernicious anemia

d. Toxicity

No toxic effects are known.

e. Sources

Animal protein contains significant amounts of B12 while plant sources have practically nothing.

D. Group IV: Other Related Factors (pseudo-vitamins)

1. Inositol
a. It occurs in meat and meat extractives, muscle and glandular organs, brain, legumes and nuts, fruits,
vegetables, and grains.

b. It is abundant in the diet; minimum requirements for inositol are not known.

c. Its chemistry is closely similar to glucose, hence it is alternatively called “muscle sugar”.

d. It is a lipotropic agent. Inositol is linked with phospholipids as phosphoinositols which help in ethe
transport and metabolism of fats.

2. Choline

a. Choline is lipotropic agent, i.e., it mobilizes fat and prevents the build-up of fatty acids.

b. It is needed for fat transport as a constituent of phospholipids, namely lecithin, cephalin, and
sphingomyelin.

c. It helps in the transmission of nerve impulses.

d. Deficiency of choline results in fatty livers as seen in cases of chronic alcoholism and kwashiorkor.

e. The richest food source is egg yolk. Other good sources are liver, brain, kidney, heart, meats, legumes
and nuts, and yeast and wheat germ.