VITAMINS

Hello! My name is . and I am going to speak about the vitamins. To begin this oral presentation, one question: What is a vitamin? Someone wants to answer my question? Ok, vitamins are organic substances that the body cannot manufacture and that are necessary for normal metabolism; only 10 such substances are known in the human being. If these substances are present in insufficient quantity, disease results. Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble, meaning that they dissolve easily in water, or fat-soluble vitamins, which are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids (fats). In general, water-soluble vitamins are readily excreted from the body. Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions and, therefore, most have multiple functions. In humans there are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C). But I am going to speak about ten of these vitamins, these are their names: THE ESSENTIAL VITAMINS FAT- SOLUBLE Vitamin A Vitamin D Vitamin K WATER-SOLUBLE Vitamin C Vitamin B complex: - Thiamine - Riboflavin - Niacin - Pyridoxine - Cobalamin - Folate

VITAMIN A (RETINOL) Vitamin A is one of the fat-soluble vitamins. In herbivorous animals the carotenoid pigments, such as the carotenes of plants and vegetables, are converted into vitamin A in the intestine, absorbed, and subsequently stored in the liver. Human beings acquire their supply either directly from the carotenoids in vegetable matter (carrots and green vegetables in general) or indirectly from animal or dairy produce. CAUSE OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY: This is usually due to a deficient diet. This nutritional problem usually occurs in Indonesia, parts of Asia, India, the Middle East, and Latin America. Vitamin- A deficiency does, however, occur as a complication of the malabsorption syndrome. EFFECTS OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY: The eyeVitamin A forms an essential component of rhodopsin, a pigment in the rods of the retina. By absorbing light, rhodopsin initiates an electrical impulse that is

transmitted to the brain and is interpreted as light. The first sign of vitamin-A deficiency, therefore, is night blindness. This way the conjunctival epithelium loses its mucus-secreting goblet cells and becomes keratinized, so that the eye becomes dry and subject to cracking and infection. The condition is called xerophthalmia. TOXICITY OF VITAMIN A: Very large dose of vitamin A are toxic and can cause an increase in intracranial pressure with headache, blurring of vision, vomiting and drowsiness. This effect has been described by Arctic explorers when they ate polar bear liver, which is a very rich source of vitamin A. VITAMIN D Vitamin D is present in all fat- containing animal products, but its richest source is cod-liver oil. Vitamin D is also formed in the skin by the action of ultraviolet light. The main action of the vitamin is the maintenance of calcium balance by facilitating the absorption of calcium from the intestine. The effects of hypovitaminosis D are rickets and osteomalacia. Hypervitaminosis D due to toxic doses of the vitamin or to an increased response to its action; there is hypercalcaemia and metastatic calcification. Vomiting, anorexia, nausea, constipation, and renal failure are the main clinical features. VITAMIN K Vitamin K is widely distributed in vegetable and animal foods. It is also synthesized by bacteria in the gut. Vitamin K-deficiency may occur by disturbed intestinal uptake, by therapeutic or accidental intake of vitamin K-antagonists or, very rarely, by nutritional vitamin K deficiency. The main clinical features are stomach pains; risk of massive uncontrolled bleeding; cartilage calcification; and severe malformation of developing bone or deposition of insoluble calcium salts in the walls of arteries. VITAMIN E Vitamin E includes a group of fat-soluble substances that act as antioxidants. The vitamins more formal name is tocopherol. Its antioxidant activity might prevent the oxidative degradation of cells membranes, which contain phospholipids, and thus maintain the integrity of the cell. In the human, tocopherols are not actively transported from the maternal to the fetal circulation and are poorly absorbed by infants of gestational age less than 36 weeks. Vitamin E deficiency in premature infants has been associated with hemolytic anemia and widespread edema. VITAMIN C (Ascorbic Acid) The main dietary sources of this vitamin are citrus fruit, currants, berries, green vegetables, and potatoes. Vitamin C is necessary for the synthesis of collagen, and a deficiency leads to scurvy. The main clinical effect is a bleeding tendency, the cause of which is probably poor anchorage of the smaller blood vessels in a thin, watery intercellular substance devoid of adequate collagen fibres. ADULT SCURVYBleeding often first takes place into the skin, being first detected around the hair follicles, which also show follicular hyperkeratosis.

A very characteristic finding is gingival hemorrhage, which occurs only in those who have teeth. Anemia is common in scorbutic subjects, but this is probably due, when it cannot be explained in terms of blood loss, to multiple nutritional deficiencies. The vitamin probably does not have a direct role in haematopoiesis. SCURVY IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN Milk and milk products are often a poor source of vitamin C, especially if the milk has been stored or processed. Consequently scurvy can developed in infants at about the age of 8 months. In infantile scurvy the outstanding feature is subperiosteal hemorrhages, which are very painful, these are rare in adults. On the other hand, although bleeding can occur elsewhere, gingival lesions are not seen in infants unless the teeth have erupted. VITAMIN B COMPLEX: THIAMINE Thiamine is a coenzyme necessary for several steps in carbohydrate metabolism. In the absence of this vitamin, lactic acid and pyruvic acid accumulate in the blood instead of entering the Krebs cycle. The vitamin is widely distributed in foodstuffs. Thiamine deficiency is now much less common in the world generally, but is still encountered in the Far East, particularly in persons of all ages living in isolated communities, in infants, and in pregnant women. IN North America it is sometimes encountered in chronic alcoholics. The early symptoms of thiamine deficiency, which is called beriberi, are vague: weakness, ankle edema, and paraesthesiae and numbness of the legs. At any time one of the two major forms may develop WET BERIBERIin this form it is postulated that the accumulation of lactic acid and other vasodilator chemical agents causes so much vasodilatation that high-output heart failure develops. DRY BERIBERIThe outstanding feature of this form is peripheral neuropathy. Numbness and anaesthesia are the result of sensory nerve damage. RIBOFLAVIN Riboflavin is a constituent of many foods, and is a component of several enzymes that play a vital role in metabolism. Yet the lesions associated with riboflavin deficiency are ill-defined. A sore mouth is an early symptom: the angles of the mouth become macerated and later develop cracks, the lips become sore, dry and the tongue becomes smooth and sore. NIACIN As with thiamine and riboflavin, niacin is widely distributed in plant and animal food and is also a component of important enzymes. A deficiency of niacin causes pellagra. Pellagra was once common in Spain and Italy: It became widespread in the USA in the early years of the last century, but has been largely eliminated by improved economic conditions. Nevertheless, it is still sometimes encountered in chronic alcoholics. The symptoms of pellagra are most easily remembered as the three Ds.

Dermatitis, diarrhea (this is one of the principal gastrointestinal symptoms) dementia (mental changes are common; they may take the form of acute delirium, or a more chronic manic-depressive state. Death was a common end-result of pellagra before the advent of vitamin therapy. - PYRIDOXINE Pyridoxine is also a component of important coenzymes. Dietary deficiencies are unusual, but pyridoxine deficiency has been reported as a complication of drug therapy, particularly isoniazyd. It has also been reported as a complication of the oral contraceptive. The effects of pyridoxine deficiency are vague; dermatitis, angular stomatitis, glossitis and anemia. It is evident from this short account that thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and pyridoxine are widely distributed in food and that deficiencies are due to an unbalanced or inadequate diet. Such dietary deficiencies are generally the effect of poverty, ignorance or alcoholism. - COBALAMIN AND FOLATE these vitamins are necessary for red-cell maturation. Their absence leads to a megaloblastic anemia.