Liver and Friends Flashcards
What is another name for vitamin A?
retinol
Where is vitamin A/ retinol stored and what is it stored as?
stored in stellate cells as retinyl ester
How is vitamin A made active?
retinyl ester activated to retinol by lecithin retinol acyltransferase (LRA)
What is the function of retinol?
helps maintain healthy teeth, skeletal and soft tissue, mucus membranes, and skin
What is another name for vitamin D?
cholecalciferol
How is vitamin D found in food?
found in food as ergocalciferol
Where is ergocalciferol metabolised?
liver
What is vitamin E a collective term for?
vitamin E is a family of 8 fat soluble compounds
What is the main function of vitamin E?
antioxidant
Where is vitamin E stored?
either liver or adipose tissue
What are the forms of vitamin K and where are they found?
two forms acquired from plant or meat sources
phylloquinone = green leafy vegetables menaquinones= animal sources
What us another name for vitamin B12?
cobalamin
How much vitamin B12 is stored in the body?
2-5mg
Where is vitamin B12 stored?
liver
Which vitamins are fat/ water soluble
ADEK= fat soluble B12= water soluble
What is the distribution of iron in the body?
50% haemoglobin
25% haem-containing proteins
25% liver ferritin
How is iron stored?
iron is bound to transferrin after being absorbed by duodenal epithelial cells
most of stored iron is in the Kupffer cells of liver as ferritin
Where is iron absorbed?
duodenum
What organ maintains blood glucose levels?
liver
What is excess glucose stored as?
glycogen
How much glycogen do different muscles store?
liver stores 100mg
skeletal muscles stored 300g
What stimulates formation/ breakdown of glycogen?
formation: insulin release
breakdown: glucagon release
What are xenobiotics?
a foreign chemical substance not normally found or produced in the body which cannot be used for energy requirements
What are microsomes?
fragments of endoplasmic reticulum with attached ribosomes that contain microsomal enzymes
Define lipophilic
able to pass through plasma membranes
What happens in phase 1 reactions?
make drugs more hydrophilic to be excreted by kidneys
introduce/ expose hydroxyl (OH) and other polar groups
carried out via oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis
facilitated by microsomal enzymes
What are some properties of pharmacologically active compounds?
lipophilic
non-ionised at pH 7.4
bound to plasma proteins to be transported
What enzymes carry out phase 2 reactions?
most are done by non-microsomal enzymes except glucuronidation which is done by microsomal enzymes (UGT)
What is UGT?
microsomal enzymes- uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase
What us UDPGA?
urine diphosphate- glucaronic acid
What are the 3 types of protein?
plasma proteins
clotting factors
complement proteins
What is the most common plasma protein and its function?
albumin
maintains osmotic pressure
binding + transporting large/ hydrophobic molecules
What is vitamin K essential for?
synthesis of clotting factors 10,9,7,2
What are two phase 2 reactions?
conjugation
glucuronidation