VITAMINS

Nenni Dwi Aprianti Lubis

History
• Purified diets of carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals and water
were not capable of normal growth
• “Accessory growth factors”
• Casimir Funk, a Polish biochemist, isolated an antiberiberi
substance from rice polishings
• Named it vitamine
• An amine
• Vital for life
 Vitamins
• Not metabolic fuels (like glucose or fatty acids) or structural
nutrients (like amino acids)

• Regulators (catalysts) of reactions, some of which are

involved in energy metabolism
Classification
• Based on solubility in the laboratory, but solubility greatly
influences how the body absorbs, transports and stores
vitamins
• Fat-soluble
• Vitamins A, D, E and K
• Water-soluble
• B vitamins and vitamin C
Fat-Soluble Vitamins, Vitamers, and Their Function

Group Vitamers Provitamins Physiologic Functions

Vitamin A Retinol Β-carotene Visual pigments, cell differentiation, gene regulation
Retinal Cryptoxanthin
Retinoic acid
Vitamin D Cholecalciferol (D3) Ca homeostasis, bone metabolism
Ergocalciferol (D2)
Vitamin E α-tocopherol Membrane antioxidant
ϒ-tocopherol
Tocotrienols
Vitamin K Phylloquinones (K1) Blood clotting, Ca metabolism
Menaquinones (K2)
Menadione (K3)
Water-Soluble Vitamins, Vitamers, and Their Function

Group Vitamers Physiologic Functions

Vitamin C Ascorbic acid Reductant in hydroxylation in biosynthesis of collagen and carnitine
and in the metabolism of drugs and steroids
Dehydroascorbic acid
Vitamin B1 Thiamin Coenzyme for decarboxylation of 2-keto acids and transketolations
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin Coenzyme in redox reactions of fatty acids and the TCA cycle
Niacin Nicotinic acid Coenzymes for several dehydrogenases
Nicotinamide
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxol Coenzymes in amino acid metabolism
Phyridoxal
Phyridoxamine
Cont.

Group Vitamers Physiologic Functions

Folate Folic acid Coenzymes in single-carbon metabolism

Pteroylmonoglutamate
Polyglutamyl folacins
Biotin Biotin Coenzyme for carboxylations

Pantothenic acid Panthothenic acid Coenzyme in fatty acid metabolism

Vitamin B12 Cobalamin Coenzyme in metabolism of propionate, amino acids, and single carbon fragments
Fat-soluble Vitamins
• Absorbed with dietary fat in small intestine
• 40-90% absorption efficiency
• Absorption typically regulated by need
• need absorption
• Transported away from small intestine in chylomicra via blood
and lymph
Fat-soluble Vitamins
• Liver either stores the vitamin or
repackages it for delivery to other
cells
• Excess vitamin accumulates in liver
and adipose
• Toxicities can occur; almost always
associated with supplement use (not
foods)
Water-soluble Vitamins
• Absorbed at the small intestine
• Absorption often highly regulated by either other vitamins or
binding proteins in the small intestine
• Transported away from small intestine in blood
• Typically not stored; instead, kidney filters excess into urine
• Thus, more important to get these vitamins daily.
• Toxicities almost unheard of
Vitamins in Feeds and Foods
• Found in ALL TYPES of foods;
not just fruits and vegetables.
• In general, processing can
decrease amount of vitamins in
food.
The Fat-Soluble Vitamins
A, D, E and K
Vitamin A: The Retinoids
• 3 forms of vitamin A important for
health
• Retinal
• Retinoic acid
• Retinol (key player; can be converted to
other forms)
• β-carotene (a carotenoid or pigment)
in yellow/orange foods is a potent
provitamin A
 Vitamin A : Sources
• Animal sources
• Liver
• Milk
• Eggs
• Plant sources
• Carrots
• Spinach
C30H30O • broccoli
• Dark-green or orange-yellow colored fruits &
vegetables
 Vitamin A : Functions
• Vision, especially night vision
• Cell growth (retinoic acid)
• Immunity
• Reproduction
 Carotenoids

• Additional physiologic effects

• Serving as an “antioxidant”
• Remove excess “electrons” from
cell system
• Electrons (free radicals) damage
cells and DNA
• Can cause mutations
• Protecting from cancer (related to
antioxidant function?)
• Protecting from heart disease?
 Vitamin A: Requirements
• To account for metabolic differences between vit A and its
carotenoid precursors  equivalents of 1 g retinol (RAE =
retinol activity equivalent)
• 12 g  carotene and 24 g  carotene = 1 RAE
•  900 RAE
•  700 RAE (higher during lactation)
Vitamin A: Deficiency
• Main symptoms
• Night blindness
• Hyperkeratosis
• Impaired immune function
• Rare in industrialized world
• Leading cause of blindness in
areas of poverty
 Vitamin A : Excessive intake

• Retinol intake > 1000 g/d   bone fx risk

• Retinol intake 3000 g/d during early pregnancy   risk of
birth defect
• 15000 g/d  itching, scaling of skin, malaise, loss of appetite, 
ICP ( nausea, vomiting, headaches, seizures, coma and death)
• Hypervitaminosis A in humans
• Polar explorers eating polar bear or seal liver
• Self-medication and overprescription
Vitamin D
• Not always essential
• Body can make it if exposed to enough sunlight!
• Made from cholesterol in the skin!
• Form of vit D in foods :
• Vit D3 (most common)
• Vit D2 (less common)
• Functions
• Promotes intestinal absorption of Ca and its retention in the
body 
• Influences growth of bone & conn tissues
 Vitamin D:
Requirements
• Adults : at least 5 g/day, 3 times as much with advanced
age
Vitamin D: Sources

• Fluid milk products are fortified with

vitamins D
• Oily fish
• Egg yolk
• Butter
• Liver
• Difficult for vegetarians
• A young person gets a full day’s supplies
from 10 – 15’ exposure to summer sun (UV-
B, 290-315 nm), older person needs several
times longer
 Vitamin D: Deficiency
• Children
• Rickets
• Failure of bones to grow properly.
• Characterized by bone deformities in
lower limbs (bowlegs) & chest.
• Adults
• Osteoporosis (porous bones)
• Associated with fracturesvery serious
for the elderly
 Vitamin D :
Excessive intake
• Prolonged consumption of several hundred g /day 
hypercalcemia & soft tissue calcification
• Thousands g/day  coma & death in extreme cases
 Vitamin E
• Functions
• Antioxidant (inactivates oxygen free
radicals in membranes, lipoproteins,
etc) 
• Protects cell membranes from free radicals
• Protects lungs from pollutants
• Others?
 Vitamin E:
Requirements

• Adults : at least 15 mg/d

• Pregnancy, breast feeding & high intake of PUFA 
slightly increase need
 Vitamin E :
Sources

• Plant sources
• Wheat germ
• Sunflower oils
• Nuts
• Little in animal sources
• Beef fed high levels of vitamin E right
before slaughter so now a source
• Improves shelf life
 Vitamin E :
Deficiency
• Very rare, except in people who have difficulty absorbing fat
• Limited evidence that inadequate intakes  atherosclerosis,
Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cataract, impair immune
function
 Vitamin E: Excessive intake
• High doses (> 1000 mg of any supplement form) can interfere with
blood clotting   risk of hemorrhagic stroke
• This adds to anticlotting effects of coumadins and salicylates
Vitamin K
• Functions
• Blood clotting
• Promoting mineralization of
bone
• Regulation cell division &
differentiation
 Vitamin K :
Requirements

• Newborn infants should get at least one supplemental dose to

prevent cerebral hemorrhage
• Adequate daily intakes :
  90 g/day
  120 g/day
Vitamin K:
Sources
• Bacteria in the large intestine (10-15%)
or rumen
• Plant sources
• Green leafy vegetables
• Some oils
• Broccoli
• Animal sources
• Milk
 Vitamin K:
Deficiency
• Very rare, except in people who have difficulty absorbing
fat (e.g., cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease) or using lots of
antibiotics (they kill the bacteria in large intestine)
• Symptom: bleeding
The Water-Soluble Vitamins
B and C
Water-soluble Vitamins
Vitamin Chemical name

B complex
B1 Thiamin
B2 Riboflavin
B3 Nicotinamide (niacin)
B6 Pyridoxine
Pantothenic acid
Biotin
Folacin (folic acid)
Choline
Cyanocobalamin
B12
Ascorbic acid
C
 W a te r-s o lu b le v ita m in s
V ita m in C B -c o m p le x vita m in s
(a s c o rb ic a c id )

E n e rg y re le a s in g H e m a to p o ie tic O th e r

Thiamin (B1) Folic acid Vitamin B6

Riboflavin (B2) Vitamin B12 Thiamin (B1)
Niacin (B3) Vitamin B6 Folic acid
Panthothenic acid Pathothenic acid Vitamin B12
Biotin Niacin (B3)
Vitamin B6
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
• There is present in rice polishings a substance different from protein
and salts, which is indispensable to health & the lack of which causes
nutritional polyneuritis (C. Eijkman)

• Function :
- essential cofactor of five enzymes involved
in carbohydrate, amino acid, intermediary
(TCA cycle), and phytol metabolism
- important for brain function
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) :
• Req : 0,4 / 1000 kal
  1.2 mg/d
  1.2 mg/d
• Food sources : the germinating parts of cereals & other plants, yeast,
milk, eggs, liver
• Thiamin antagonist :
- thiamin-degrading enzymes (thiaminases)
(in raw fish & shellfish)
- sulfites added in processing
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

• Effect of cooking :
- soluble in water  some loss occurs
when cooking in water
- destroyed by alkalis
- destroyed by very high temperature
 Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
• Sources : most valuable is milk (500 ml  ½ RDA)
egg yolk, liver, kidney, heart
• Is a permitted coloring (yellow) agent for foods but because its light
sensitivity  used infreq
• Effect of cooking : not affected greatly by cooking, drying, canning or
freezing
• Precursor of flavin mononucleotides (FMN) & flavin-adenine dinucleotide
(FAD)  essential for several enzymes
• Effect of deficiency :
- inflammation of the lips & tongue
- a waxy skin eruption around the nose & lips
- cracks at the corners of the mouth
- the cornea is infiltrated by small blood vessels
- the eyes are painful & sensitive to light
 Vitamin B3 (niacin)
• Can be obtained from diet or can be synthesized in the body
from the essential amino acid tryptophan
• Is a component of coenz NAD & NADP  involved in the
oxidative release of energy
• 2 related compounds :
- nicotinamide
- nicotinic acid
 Vitamin B3 (niacin)

• Sources : wholegrain cereals & wholemeal

bread, meat, liver, kidney, fish
 progressively removed during milling
• 60 mg tryptophan ~ 1 mg nicotinic acid
• RNI : 6.6 mg / 1000 kcal
 Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
• Deficiency : pellagra  3Ds
(dermatitis, diarrhoea & dementia)
• Epidemics on a diet based upon maize
• High doses  reduce high plasma cholesterol  flushing,
itching, nausea & vomiting
 Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
• 3 biologically active substances found in food : pyridoxine, pyridoxal
and pyridoxamine
• As cofactor for a large number of enzyme which catalyse amino acid
reaction  very important for protein metabolism
• Liver, eggs, meat, fish, green leafy vegetables, fruits
• Over deficiency is rare
 Vitamin B5 (Panthothenic acid)
• Coenzyme in the formation of Coenzyme A
• Involved in fat, cholesterol and heme formation and amino
acid activation
• AI for man and women : 5 mg/day
• Dietary sources
• Found in whole grain cereals and legumes
• Widely found in animal tissue
• Losses with heat and acid conditions
 Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
• Necessary for normal protein metabolism & for production of
the myelin sheath around nerves
• Sources : meat (best), cheese, eggs & milk
• Not found in vegetables
• Deficiency usually from lack of the intrinsic factor
• Symptom of deficiency : megaloblastic anemia & neurological
symptom
 Folic acid
• Not stable  loss during cooking
• Requirement  during pregnancy
• Body does not have large stores  deficiency can develop quickly
Folate-rich Foods
• Orange juice, oranges
• Liver
• Avocado
• Dried beans and peas; lentils
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
 Biotin
• Coenzyme in metabolism for release energy (function in TCA
cycle)
• Involved in gluconeogenesis (synthesis of fatty acids, amino
acids and purines)
• Dietary sources :
• Found in liver, kidney, meat, tomatoes and egg yolk
• Avidin in raw egg whites binds biotin and prevents it from being
absorbed
• Losses with heat
 Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
• Perform an antioxidant function
• Wound healing
• A structural component involved in collagen formation
• Important in the synthesis of :
• neurotransmitter (conversion tryptophan to serotonin and
norephinehrine)
• hormones (thyroxine)
• Bile acids
• Metabolism of amino acids
• Breakdown of fatty acid
Dietary sources
• Citrus fruits and green vegetables
• Potatoes
• Losses with heating, contact with cooking surfaces
containing iron or copper, presence of air and alkaline
solutions
Recommendations in the diet
• RDA for male : 90 mg/day
• RDA for female : 75 mg/day
• Increased needs in pregnancy and lactation women, smokers
and in metabolic conditions in response to oxidative stress
Deficiency and excess states
• Deficiency
• Scurvy
• Bleeding gums

• Excess
• GI distress
• Hot flashes
• Rashes
• Headache
‫الحمد هلل‬