Vitamin
- A "vitamin" is also a pill that contains vitamins, eaten regularly to keep one healthy.
A vitamin is a chemical compound that is needed in small amounts for the human body to work correctly. They include Vitamin A, many B vitamins (like B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. For example, citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons contain vitamin C.
The term was coined in 1912 by biochemist Casimir Funk, who isolated a complex of micronutrients and proposed the complex be named vitamine.[1] By convention the word vitamin does not include other essential nutrients, such as certain minerals, essential fatty acids and essential amino acids.[2]
Thirteen vitamins are recognized at present. Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, and not their structure. Each vitamin name (the word vitamin followed by a letter) refers to a number of vitamer compounds which all show the same biological activity. For example, vitamin A refers to several different chemicals. Vitamers convert to the active form of the vitamin in the body. They are sometimes inter-convertible to one another as well.
The body does not make these chemicals. They come from other places, usually food. A short term lack of a certain vitamin is usually not a problem, because the body can store vitamins for a short time. Not having a certain vitamin for a longer period of time can lead to different diseases, depending on the vitamin. Probably the best-known of these diseases is scurvy, which results from not having enough Vitamin C. Beriberi and rickets are others.
Today, many drug companies make inexpensive pills that contain various vitamins. They help people avoid those diseases.
Vitamins can be either fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) can be stored in the body, and are used when needed.[3] Water-soluble ones only stay in the body a short time.
Name changes
[change | change source]Currently there are no vitamins F to J. These existed at some time. Today they are no longer seen as vitamins. Some of them were also false leads, and turned out to be something else. Others were renamed as B vitamins. Today, the B vitamins are a whole complex, and not just one vitamin.
The German-speaking scientists who isolated and described vitamin K (in addition to naming it as such) did so because the vitamin is intimately involved in the 'Koagulation' (clotting) of blood following wounding. At the time, most (but not all) of the letters from F through I were already designated, so the use of the letter K was considered quite reasonable. The following table lists chemicals that had previously been classified as vitamins, as well as the earlier names of vitamins that later became part of the B-complex.
| Previous name[4][5] | Chemical name[4][5] | Reason for name change[4] |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B4 | Adenine | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin B8 | Adenylic acid | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin F | Essential fatty acids | Needed in large quantities (does not fit the definition of a vitamin). |
| Vitamin G | Riboflavin | Reclassified as Vitamin B2 |
| Vitamin H | Biotin | Reclassified as Vitamin B7 |
| Vitamin J | Catechol, Flavin | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin L1[6] | Anthranilic acid | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin L2[6] | Adenylthiomethylpentose | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin M | Folic acid | Reclassified as Vitamin B9 |
| Vitamin O | Carnitine | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin P | Flavonoids | No longer classified as a vitamin |
| Vitamin PP | Niacin | Reclassified as Vitamin B3 |
| Vitamin U | S-Methylmethionine | No longer classified as a vitamin |
List of vitamins
[change | change source]| Vitamin generic descriptor name |
Active agent ('Vitamer') (list not complete) | Solubility | United States Recommended daily intake (male, age 19–70)[7] |
Deficiency disease | Upper Intake Level (UL/day)[7] |
Overdose disease | Food sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | Retinol, retinal, and four carotenoids including beta carotene |
Fat | 900 µg | Night blindness, hyperkeratosis, and keratomalacia[8] | 3,000 µg | Hypervitaminosis A | Liver, orange, ripe yellow fruits, leafy vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, squash, spinach, fish, soy milk, milk |
| Vitamin B1 | Thiamine | Water | 1.2 mg | Beriberi, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome | N/D[9] | Drowsiness or muscle relaxation with large doses.[10] | Pork, oatmeal, brown rice, vegetables, potatoes, liver, eggs |
| Vitamin B2 | Riboflavin | Water | 1.3 mg | Ariboflavinosis, glossitis, angular stomatitis | N/D | Dairy products, bananas, popcorn, green beans, asparagus | |
| Vitamin B3 | Niacin, niacinamide, Nicotinamide riboside | Water | 16.0 mg | Pellagra | 35.0 mg | Liver damage (doses > 2g/day)[11] and other problems | Meat, fish, eggs, many vegetables, mushrooms, tree nuts |
| Vitamin B5 | Pantothenic acid | Water | 5.0 mg[12] | Paresthesia | N/D | Diarrhea; possibly nausea and heartburn.[13] | Meat, broccoli, avocados |
| Vitamin B6 | Pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal | Water | 1.3–1.7 mg | Anemia[14] peripheral neuropathy | 100 mg | Impairment of proprioception, nerve damage (doses > 100 mg/day) | Meat, vegetables, tree nuts, bananas |
| Vitamin B7 | Biotin | Water | 30.0 µg | Dermatitis, enteritis | N/D | Raw egg yolk, liver, peanuts, leafy green vegetables | |
| Vitamin B9 | Folates | Water | 400 µg | Megaloblastic anemia and deficiency during pregnancy is associated with birth defects, such as neural tube defects | 1,000 µg | May mask symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency; other effects. | Leafy vegetables, pasta, bread, cereal, liver |
| Vitamin B12 | Cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin | Water | 2.4 µg | Pernicious anemia[15] | N/D | Acne-like rash [causality is not conclusively established]. | Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk |
| Vitamin C | Ascorbic acid | Water | 90.0 mg | Scurvy | 2,000 mg | Vitamin C megadosage | Many fruits and vegetables, liver |
| Vitamin D | Cholecalciferol (D3), Ergocalciferol (D2) | Fat | 10 µg[16] | Rickets and osteomalacia | 50 µg | Hypervitaminosis D | Fish, eggs, liver, mushrooms |
| Vitamin E | Tocopherols, tocotrienols | Fat | 15.0 mg | Deficiency is very rare; sterility in males and miscarriage in females, mild hemolytic anemia in newborn infants[17] | 1,000 mg | Increased congestive heart failure seen in one large randomized study.[18] | Many fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds |
| Vitamin K | Phylloquinone, menaquinones | Fat | 120 µg | Bleeding diathesis | N/D | Increases coagulation in patients taking warfarin.[19] | Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, egg yolks, liver |
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ Jr, Gerald F. Combs (2007-10-30). The Vitamins. Elsevier. ISBN 9780080561301.
- ↑ Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins; Charles William McLaughlin; Susan Johnson; Maryanna Quon Warner; David LaHart; Jill D. Wright (1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1. OCLC 32308337.
- ↑ NIcolas, AJ. "Facts about Vitamins".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Every Vitamin Page Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine All Vitamins and Pseudo-Vitamins. Compiled by David Bennett.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Vitamins and minerals - names and facts". Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Michael W. Davidson (2004) Anthranilic Acid (Vitamin L) Florida State University. Accessed 20-02-07
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dietary Reference Intakes: Vitamins Archived 2016-03-28 at the Wayback Machine. The National Academies, 2001.
- ↑ "Vitamin A: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals". National Institute of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ↑ "Dietary Reference Intakes: Vitamins". The National Academies. 2001. Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
Amount not determinable due to lack of data of adverse effects. Source of intake should be from food only to prevent high levels of intake.
- ↑ "Thiamin, vitamin B1: MedlinePlus Supplements". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.
- ↑ Hardman, J.G.; et al., eds. (2001). Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 992. ISBN 0071354697.
- ↑ Plain type indicates Adequate Intakes (A/I). "The AI is believed to cover the needs of all individuals, but a lack of data prevent being able to specify with confidence the percentage of individuals covered by this intake" (see Dietary Reference Intakes: Vitamins Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. The National Academies, 2001).
- ↑ "Pantothenic acid, dexpanthenol: MedlinePlus Supplements". MedlinePlus. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
- ↑ Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Fact Sheets Vitamin B6 Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. Dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov (15 September 2011). Retrieved on 2013-08-03.
- ↑ Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Fact Sheets Vitamin B12 Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. Dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov (24 June 2011). Retrieved on 2013-08-03.
- ↑ Value represents suggested intake without adequate sunlight exposure (see Dietary Reference Intakes: Vitamins Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. The National Academies, 2001).
- ↑ The Merck Manual: Nutritional Disorders: Vitamin Introduction Please select specific vitamins from the list at the top of the page.
- ↑ Gaby, Alan R. (2005). "Does vitamin E cause congestive heart failure? (Literature Review & Commentary)". Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
- ↑ Rohde LE; de Assis MC; Rabelo ER (2007). "Dietary vitamin K intake and anticoagulation in elderly patients". Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 10 (1): 120–124. doi:10.1097/MCO.0b013e328011c46c. PMID 17143047. S2CID 20484616.