Vitamins and Nutrition Flashcards
Vitamins
Small molecules important as cofactors in many biological/enzymatic reactions
Deficiency
Due to either inadequate diet, inadequate GI absorption, competing organisms (e.g., parasites)
Insufficiency
Due to increased metabolism that mandates intake and absorption of greater than normal levels
Toxicity
Abnormally high intake that can lead to pathology (mostly leading to either hepatic or kidney damage)
Vitamin B1 other name and function
- Thiamine
- Coenzyme for energy metabolism
Vitamin B2 other name and function
- Riboflavin
- Precursor for coenzymes FMN or FAD, redox reactions
Vitamin B3 other name and function
- Niacin
- Precursor to coenzyme NAD, dehydrogenase reactions
Vitamin B5 other name and function
- Pantothenic acid
- Component of Coenzyme A
Vitamin B6 other name and function
- Pyridoxine
- Aa metabolism and transport, heme synthesis
Vitamin B7 other name and function
- Biotin
- Coenzyme for carboxyl unit transfer
Vitamin B12 other name and function
- Cyanocobalamin
- Hematopoiesis, fatty acid metabolism
Folate/folic acid (vit B9) function
Coenzyme for one-carbon transfer reactions and aa metabolism
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) function
- hydrogen ion transfer
- redox reactions
- aa metabolism
- collagen synthesis
Vit A (retinol) function
- Vision
- Cell differentiation
- Growth
- Reproduction
- Immune system function
Vitamin D function
controls calcium and phosphate metabolism
Vitamin E function
- Antioxidant
- Peroxide breakdown
- Cellular integrity
Vitamin K function
Cofactor for post-translational carboxylation of many proteins and clotting factors. Give Vit K shots to newborns to aid clotting
Biochemically, vitamins are most easily studied within groups defined by ___
hydrophobicity
List fat-soluble vitamins
A, D, E, K
Water soluble-vitamins
Vit C
B1, B3, riboflavin, B5, B6, B7, B12