BCH 210.1 Lesson Note
BCH 210.1 Lesson Note
BCH 210.1 Lesson Note
VITAMINS
The vitamins are organic, low-molecular-weight compound the body requires in small amounts for
normal metabolic functions, deficiency of any vitamin can cause serious symptoms.
Vitamins act as coenzymes to regulate metabolism; assist the body to convert the energy in fat,
carbohydrates, and protein into ATP; and promote growth and reproduction. Vitamins do not provide
energy themselves, There Are Criteria for Classifying Vitamins
Thirteen (13) compounds are classified as vitamins. The vitamins are further organized according to
their solubility. There are four fat-soluble (hydrophobic) vitamins: A, D, E, and K, and nine water-
soluble (hydrophilic) vitamins, including the B vitamin complex and vitamin C.
Water-Soluble Vitamins Are Not Stored after Absorption. Water-soluble vitamins are absorbed with
water and enter the bloodstream directly from the small intestine. Most water-soluble vitamins are
absorbed in the duodenum and jejunum, although vitamin B12 is absorbed in the ileum. Water-
soluble vitamins are not stored in the body, and excess amounts are excreted, so it’s important to
consume adequate amounts of them every day. Note that even though most water-soluble vitamins
aren’t stored, dietary excesses can still be harmful.
Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed primarily in the duodenum. They are packaged with fatty acids and
bile in micelles that transport them close to the intestinal mucosa. Once there, the fat-soluble
vitamins travel through the cells in the intestinal wall into the bloodstream via the lymph system as
chylomicrons. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body and used as needed when dietary intake
falls short of the body’s needs. The liver, fat and muscle tissues are the main storage depot for fat
soluble vitamins. Because they are stored in the body, large quantities of some of the fat-soluble
vitamins could lead to toxicity, causing harmful symptoms and conditions.
Some preparation and storage methods (exposure to air, ultraviolet (UV) light, water, changes in pH,
or heat) can accelerate vitamin loss.
Vitamin A The term vitamin A refers to a family of fat-soluble retinoids that include retinol, retinal,
and retinoic acid. These compounds are similar in their chemical structure. They each contain a ring
with a polyunsaturated fatty acid tail. Attached at the end of the fatty acid tail is either an alcohol
group (retinol), an aldehyde group (retinal), or an acid group (retinoic acid). Whereas retinol, retinal,
and retinoic acid all participate in essential functions in the body, retinol, the alcohol form, is the most
usable. In foods, vitamin A is found as retinol or as a retinyl ester, which has an ester group attached
at the fatty acid tail. The body also stores vitamin A as a retinyl ester in the liver.
Chemical structure
VITAMIN FUNCTIONS DIETARY SOURCE DEFICIENCY
SYMPTOMS
A Plays an important role in vision Beef, liver, lean ham Night blindness, dry,
and reproduction and pork chops, eggs, rough skin, poor bone
• Needed for formation and shrimp, fish, fortified and teeth growth and
maintenance of mucous milk, cheddar cheese, development, a
membrane, skin and bone Swiss cheese, darkly susceptibility to
• Supports the immune system colored orange or infectious diseases
(helps make white blood cells) green vegetables
act as antioxidants that (carrots, sweet
prevent some cancers and potatoes, pumpkin,
fight heart disease turnip greens and
• Growth and spinach), orange fruits
development (cantaloupe, apricots,
• Red blood cell peaches, mangoes)
formation
VITAMIN D
Vitamin D (calciferol) is called the “sunshine vitamin” because it is derived from the reaction between
ultraviolet (UV) rays and a form of cholesterol found in the skin. Exposure to sunlight can synthesize
up to 100 percent of the vitamin D the body needs.41 For this reason, vitamin D is often considered a
conditionally essential nutrient. However, it still fits the criteria of a vitamin because a deficiency of
this compound can cause symptoms that are cured once adequate intake is restored. Because of its
function, vitamin D is also considered a prohormone, an inactive precursor, that is activated inside the
body. Vitamin D is found in two forms. Cholecalciferol or vitamin D3 is the form produced in the skin
and found in animal foods. Ergocalciferol or vitamin D2 is found in plants and dietary supplements.
Chemical structure:
Chemical structure
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is found naturally in two forms. Some plants manufacture phylloquinone, or vitamin K1.
Phylloquinone, has a long chain of carbons with methyl groups attached at every fourth carbon. This is
the primary source of vitamin K in the diet. In animals, bacteria that reside naturally in the colon
synthesize menaquinone, also referred to as vitamin K2. A third form of vitamin K, called menadione,
or vitamin K3, is synthetic and formulated for use in animal feed and vitamin supplements.
Chemical structure
VITAMIN FUNCTIONS DIETARY SOURCE DEFICIENCY
SYMPTOMS
K Plays an essential role in Cabbage, liver, eggs, A shortage of this
formation and regulation of milk, spinach, broccoli, vitamin may result in
blood clotting proteins sprouts, kale, collards, nosebleeds, internal
• Supports the utilization of and other green hemorrhaging.
calcium in teeth/bone vegetable
formation
VITAMIN C
Vitamin C (chemical names: ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a six-carbon lactone which is synthesized
from glucose by many animals. Vitamin C is synthesized in the liver in some mammals and in the
kidney in birds and reptiles. However, several species—including humans, are unable to synthesize
vitamin C. Vitamin C is an electron donor (reducing agent or antioxidant), hence exhibiting its
potentially protective role as an antioxidant . Humans lack the terminal enzyme in the biosynthetic
pathway of ascorbic acid, l-gulonolactone oxidase, because the gene encoding for the enzyme has
undergone substantial mutation so that no protein is produced.
Chemical structure:
VITAMIN B1 THIAMIN
Chemical structure:
RIBOFLAVIN (B2)
Chemical structure
NIACIN B3
Chemical structure
Niacin is the generic descriptor for pyridine 3-carboxylic acid and derivatives exhibiting qualitatively
the biological activity of nicotinamide.
Nicotinic acid is slightly soluble in water and ethanol; nicotinamide is very soluble in water and
moderately soluble in ethanol. The coenzyme forms of niacin are the pyridine nucleotides, NAD(H)
and NADP(H). In each of these compounds, the electron-withdrawing effect of the N-1 atom and the
amide group of the oxidized pyridine nucleus enables the pyridine C-4 atom to react with many
nucleophilic agents (e.g., sulfite, cyanide, and hydride ions). It is the reaction with hydride ions (H−)
that is the basis of the enzymatic hydrogen transfer by the pyridine nucleotides; the reaction involves
the transfer of two electrons in a single step.
Vitamin B6
Chemical structure
3. Substituent at ring carbon para to the pyridine nitrogen must be metabolizable to an aldehyde
The term pyridoxine is the trivial designation of one vitamin B6-active compound (i.e., 3-hydroxy-4,5-
bis(hydroxymethyl)2-methylpyridine), which was formerly called adermin or pyridoxol. The
biologically active analogs of pyridoxine are the aldehyde pyridoxal and the amine pyridoxamine.
Vitamins B6 are colorless crystals at room temperature. Each is very soluble in water. Each is fairly
stable in dry form and in solution. Pyridoxine is oxidized in vivo and under mild oxidizing conditions in
vitro to yield pyridoxal. The prominent feature of the chemical reactivity of pyridoxal is the ability of
its aldehyde group to react with primary amino groups (e.g., of amino acids) to form Schiff bases. The
electron-withdrawing effect of the resulting Schiff base labilizes the other bonds on the bound carbon,
thus serving as the basis of the catalytic roles of pyridoxal and pyridoxamine.
Biotin
Biotin is a white crystalline substance that, in dry form, is fairly stable to air, heat, and light. Its
structure consists of a planar ureido nucleus and a folded tetrahydrothiophene (thiophane) nucleus.
The molecule has eight possible stereoisomers, only the (+)-isomer (called d-biotin) has biological
activity. Biotin is covalently bound to its enzymes by an amide bond to the ε-amino group of a lysine
residue and C-2 of the thiophane nucleus. This bond is flexible, allowing the coenzyme to move
between the active centers of some enzymes. The biotin molecule is activated by polarization of the O
and N-1′ atoms of the ureido nucleus. This leads to increased nucleophilicity at N-1 ′, which promotes
the formation of a covalent bond between the electrophilic carbonyl phosphate formed from
bicarbonate and ATP, and allows biotin to serve as a transport agent for CO 2.
Pantothenic Acid
FOLATE
Chemical structure
VITAMIN B12
Chemical structure
Vitamin B12 is the generic descriptor for all corrinoids (i.e., compounds containing the corrin
nucleus) exhibiting the qualitative biological activity of cyanocobalamin. Cyanocobalamin is the
trivial designation of the vitamin B12-active corrinoid (also called cobalamin) with a cyano ligand
(CN−) at the β position of the cobalt atom. The analogs containing methyl-, 5 ′-deoxyadenosyl-,
hydroxo- (OH) groups at that position are called methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin, and
hydroxocobalamin.
Vitamin B12 is an octahedral cobalt complex consisting of a porphyrin-like, cobalt-centered
macroring (called a corrin ring or nucleus), a nucleotide, and a second cobalt-bound group (e.g.,
CH3, H2O, CN−). The corrin nucleus consists of four reduced pyrrole nuclei linked by three
methylene bridges and one direct bond. The triply ionized cobalt atom (i.e., Co3+) can form up to
six coordinate bonds, is tightly bound to the four pyrrole nitrogen atoms, and can also bond a
nucleotide and a small ligand below and above, respectively, the plane of the ring system. The
cobalt atom is removed in vitro only with difficulty, resulting in loss of biological activity.