Vitamins Flashcards
Are vitamins essential?
Indispensable in human diets-Can’t be synthesized in sufficient quantity to meet individual needs; Vital dietary component; Vitamins with diverse biochemical functions;
How many vitamins are universally recognized at present?
13
History
Certain foods cured “illnesses”
Ancient Egyptians treated night blindness with juice from liver
Diseases like Scurvy, Beriberi, Pellagra and Pernicious Anemia prevented
Vitamins Definition
Organic, essential nutrients required in small, limited amounts to perform specific functions that promote growth, reproduction or maintenance of health and life
Vitamine
Vital (Life)
Amine (Contain Nitrogen)
Examples of Water-Soluble Vitamins
B-Vitamins and Vitamin C
Absorption of Water-Soluble Vitamins
Directly into blood
Transport of Water-Soluble Vitamins
Travel freely
Storage of Water-Soluble Vitamins
Freely circulate in water-filled parts of the body
Excretion of Water-Soluble Vitamins
Kidneys detect and remove excess in urine
Toxicity of Water-Soluble Vitamins
Possible when consumed from supplements
Requirements of Water-Soluble Vitamins
Frequent doses (1-3days)
Examples of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Vitamins A, D, E and K
Absorption of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
First into lymph, then blood
Transport of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Many require protein carriers
Storage of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Trapped in cells associated with fat
Excretion of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Less readily excreted, the to remain in fat-storage sites
Toxicity of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Likely to reach toxic levels, when consumed from supplements
Requirements of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Needed in periodic doses (Weeks or months)
Coenzymes
Organic, dialyzable, thermostable molecule that functions with enzyme to facilitate biochemical reaction (B-Vitamins)
Thiamin
First vitamin discovered (1926-1936); Thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) is coenzyme vital to tissue respiration (co-carboxylase)
Thiamin Triphosphate (TTP)
Regulates nerve impulse transmission, concentrated in neuronal cells and other excitable tissues like skeletal muscle (Non-coenzyme)
Beriberi
“I can not, I can not.” in Sinhalese
Thiamin deficient individuals are weak due to impaired function of cardiovascular, muscular, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems
Symptoms: appetite loss, weight loss (marasmic), fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, edema, dyspnea, cyanosis, cardiac failure/death
Dry: Peripheral neuropathy and extreme wasting
Wet: Peripheral neuropathy and congestive heart failure
Infantile Beriberi
Breast-fed infant from mother with beriberi-thiamin deficiency; mainly “Wet”-heart failure and marked peripheral edema; fatal-acute onset, formerly common in East Asian countries where rice is consumed, reversible with Thiamin (B1), occurs 2-6months