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- National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Vitamins, Are They Safe?
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What are vitamins?
Vitamins are any of several organic substances that are necessary in small quantities for normal health and growth in higher forms of animal life. They are usually designated by selected letters of the alphabet, as in vitamin C, though they are also designated by chemical names.
What are the two main groups of vitamins?
Traditionally vitamins are separated into two groups, the water-soluble and the fat-soluble vitamins. The water-soluble vitamins are thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and vitamin C. The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, and vitamin K.
What are sources for vitamins?
Both plants and animals are important natural sources for vitamins. All vitamins can be either synthesized or produced commercially from food sources and are available for human consumption in pharmaceutical preparations.
What common diseases are caused by a vitamin deficiency?
Inadequate intake of specific vitamins can result in a characteristic deficiency disease (hypovitaminosis), and the severity depends upon the degree of vitamin deprivation. Symptoms may be specific (e.g., functional night blindness with vitamin A deficiency), nonspecific (e.g., loss of appetite, failure to grow), or irreversible (e.g., damage to the cornea of the eye, nerve tissue, calcified bone).
What are the vitamin requirements in human beings?
There is no uniform agreement concerning vitamin requirements for humans, but recommended daily vitamin intakes are sufficiently high to account for individual variation and normal environmental stresses.
vitamin, any of several organic substances that are necessary in small quantities for normal health and growth in higher forms of animal life. Vitamins are distinct in several ways from other biologically importantcompounds such asproteins,carbohydrates, andlipids. Although these latter substances also are indispensable for proper bodily functions, almost all of them can be synthesized by animals in adequate quantities. Vitamins, on the other hand, generally cannot be synthesized in amounts sufficient to meet bodily needs and therefore must be obtained from the diet or from somesynthetic source. For this reason, vitamins are called essential nutrients. Vitamins also differ from the other biological compounds in that relatively small quantities are needed to complete their functions. In general these functions are of a catalytic or regulatory nature,facilitating or controlling vital chemical reactions in the body’s cells. If a vitamin is absent from the diet or is not properly absorbed by the body, a specific deficiencydisease may develop.
Vitamins are usually designated by selected letters of the alphabet, as invitamin D orvitamin C, though they are also designated by chemical names, such asniacin andfolic acid. Biochemists traditionally separate them into two groups, the water-soluble vitamins and the fat-soluble vitamins. The common and chemical names of vitamins of both groups, along with their main biological functions and deficiency symptoms, are listed in thetable.
| vitamin | alternative names/forms | biological function | symptoms of deficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water-soluble | |||
| thiamin | vitamin B1 | component of a coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism; supports normal nerve function | impairment of the nerves and heart muscle wasting |
| riboflavin | vitamin B2 | component of coenzymes required for energy production and lipid, vitamin, mineral, and drug metabolism; antioxidant | inflammation of the skin, tongue, and lips; ocular disturbances; nervous symptoms |
| niacin | nicotinic acid, nicotinamide | component of coenzymes used broadly in cellular metabolism, oxidation of fuel molecules, and fatty acid and steroid synthesis | skin lesions, gastrointestinal disturbances, nervous symptoms |
| vitamin B6 | pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine | component of coenzymes in metabolism of amino acids and other nitrogen-containing compounds; synthesis of hemoglobin, neurotransmitters; regulation of blood glucose levels | dermatitis, mental depression, confusion, convulsions, anemia |
| folic acid | folate, folacin, pteroylglutamic acid | component of coenzymes in DNA synthesis, metabolism of amino acids; required for cell division, maturation of red blood cells | impaired formation of red blood cells, weakness, irritability, headache, palpitations, inflammation of mouth, neural tube defects in fetus |
| vitamin B12 | cobalamin, cyanocobalamin | cofactor for enzymes in metabolism of amino acids (including folic acid) and fatty acids; required for new cell synthesis, normal blood formation, and neurological function | smoothness of the tongue, gastrointestinal disturbances, nervous symptoms |
| pantothenic acid | as component of coenzyme A, essential for metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, and fat; cofactor for elongation of fatty acids | weakness, gastrointestinal disturbances, nervous symptoms, fatigue, sleep disturbances, restlessness, nausea | |
| biotin | cofactor in carbohydrate, fatty acid, and amino acid metabolism | dermatitis, hair loss, conjunctivitis, neurological symptoms | |
| vitamin C | ascorbic acid | antioxidant; synthesis of collagen, carnitine, amino acids, and hormones; immune function; enhances absorption of non-heme iron (from plant foods) | swollen and bleeding gums, soreness and stiffness of the joints and lower extremities, bleeding under the skin and in deep tissues, slow wound healing, anemia |
| Fat-soluble | |||
| vitamin A | retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, beta-carotene (plant version) | normal vision, integrity of epithelial cells (mucous membranes and skin), reproduction, embryonic development, growth, immune response | ocular disturbances leading to blindness, growth retardation, dry skin, diarrhea, vulnerability to infection |
| vitamin D | calciferol, calatriol (1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D1 or vitamin D hormone), cholecalciferol (D3; plant version), ergocalciferol (D2; animal version) | maintenance of blood calcium and phosphorus levels, proper mineralization of bones | defective bone growth in children, soft bones in adults |
| vitamin E | alpha-tocopherol, tocopherol, tocotrienol | antioxidant; interruption of free radical chain reactions; protection of polyunsaturated fatty acids, cell membranes | peripheral neuropathy, breakdown of red blood cells |
| vitamin K | phylloquinone, menaquinone, menadione, naphthoquinone | synthesis of proteins involved in blood coagulation and bone metabolism | impaired clotting of the blood and internal bleeding |
Biological significance of vitamins
Discovery and original designation
Some of the first evidence for the existence of vitamins emerged in the late 19th century with the work of Dutch physician and pathologistChristiaan Eijkman. In 1890 a nerve disease (polyneuritis) broke out among his laboratory chickens. He noticed that the disease was similar to the polyneuritis associated with the nutritional disorderberiberi. In 1897 he demonstrated that polyneuritis was caused by feeding the chickens a diet of polished whiterice but that it disappeared when the animals were fed unpolished rice. In 1906–07 British biochemistSir Frederick Gowland Hopkins observed that animals cannotsynthesize certain amino acids and concluded that macronutrients and salts could not by themselves support growth.
In 1912—the same year that Hopkins published his findings about the missing nutrients, which he described as “accessory” factors or substances—a Polish scientist,Casimir Funk, demonstrated thatpolyneuritis produced in pigeons fed on polished rice could be cured by supplementing the birds’ diet with a concentrate made from rice bran, a component of the outer husk that was removed from rice during polishing. Funk proposed that the polyneuritis arose because of a lack in the birds’ diet of a vital factor (now known to bethiamin) that could be found in rice bran. Funk believed that some human diseases, particularly beriberi,scurvy, andpellagra, also were caused bydeficiencies of factors of the same chemical type. Because each of these factors had a nitrogen-containing component known as anamine, he called the compounds “vital amines,” a term that he later shortened to “vitamines.” The finale was dropped later when it was discovered that not all of the vitamins contain nitrogen and, therefore, not all are amines.
In 1913 American researcher Elmer McCollum divided vitamins into two groups: “fat-soluble A” and “water-soluble B.” As claims for the discovery of other vitamins multiplied, researchers called the new substances C, D, and so on. Later it was realized that the water-solublegrowth factor, vitamin B, was not a singleentity but at least two—only one of which prevented polyneuritis in pigeons. The factor required by pigeons was called vitamin B1, and the other factor, essential for rats, was designated vitamin B2. As chemical structures of the vitamins became known, they were also given chemical names, e.g.,thiamin for vitamin B1 andriboflavinfor vitamin B2.