NUTRITON, DIET AND CLASSES OF NUTRIENTS

Nutrition can be defined as the science that interprets the relationship of food to the
functioning of living organism. It includes the uptake of food, liberation of energy, elimination
of wastes and all the processes of synthesis essential for maintenance, growth and reproduction.
A Diet consists of energy-yielding, body-building and protective nutrients, which we eat to
maintain normal growth, function and optimal health of the body.
Nutrients are the substances in diet that the body uses to function properly. To function
properly, the body must maintain a proper balance of the following key nutrients:
• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Water

Nutrients are divided into macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients consist of

carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the diet. They are required in large quantities and are the
sources of energy, whereas micronutrients do not provide energy and are required in small
quantities. These include vitamins and minerals.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate is one of the macronutrients and a major source of energy to the body. It
provides 4kcal/g. Carbohydrates in food are present in the form of sugars and starch (polymers of
sugar) and cellulose (non-starch polysaccharide). The simplest component of carbohydrate is
glucose.
Carbohydrates are classified into mono, disaccharides, oligosaccharides and
polysaccharides. There are six naturally occurring carbohydrates of interest in foods -glucose,
fructose; sucrose, maltose and lactose (disaccharides) and starch (polysaccharide). Simple
carbohydrates (sugars) are crystalline solids and water-soluble. It is present in variable amount in
nearly all foods except fats and oils. Starch, sugar, grain foods, roots and tubers are the main
carbohydrate source. For dietary fiber, bran is the richest source. In addition whole grains
cereals, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetable are good fiber source.
Fats
Fats are triglycerides of fatty acids and glycerol. Fatty acids have a fundamental structure
of CH3 (CH2 )nCOOH. Fat is a concentrated source of energy providing 9kcal/g.
Based on the linkage between the carbon atoms, they are can be saturated (carbon atoms
linked by a single bond, e.g. denoted as 14:0); Monounsaturated (one double bond in the carbon
chain, e.g. 16:1,n-9 denotes fatty acid with 16 carbon atoms); Polyunsaturated (more than one
double bond, e.g. 20:4n- 6, denotes carbon atom with first of four double bond in 6 carbon atoms
from methyl group).
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 The degree of unsaturation affects the properties of the fat /oil. All double bonds are
usually in cis forms. The trans fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids having double bond in the
trans form, which is found to be more stable. Fatty acids in food have even number of carbon
atoms and have a mixture of fatty acid triglycerides. Due to the hydrophobic nature of fatty acids
containing more than 8 atoms, it is insoluble in nature. Fats are solid at room temperature and
contain more percentage of saturated fatty acid. Oils are liquid at room temperature containing
more of unsaturated fatty acids.
Animal fats predominantly have saturated fatty acids whereas the vegetable oils have
unsaturated fatty acids. It is present in small percentage in cereals and legumes as invisible form.
Butter etc from animal sources and oils (e.g. groundnut, mustard, coconut, safflower etc) from
vegetable sources are the visible sources.
Proteins
Protein is also one of the major macronutrients. It contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and
nitrogen. Some proteins also contain sulphur and phosphorus. The basic structure or building
unit of protein is amino acid. It has an amino group-NH2 and carboxyl group-COOH. The amino
acids are joined by peptide linkages to form protein.
There are about 20 amino acids present in the body. Nine amino acids are essential for
humans, as humans cannot synthesize them. These are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine,
phenylalanine, threonine, trytophan, valine and histidine. Infants require two more essential
amino acids (arginine and histidine). The non-essential amino acids are glycine, alanine, serine,
cysteine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, arginine, tyrosine, proline, etc.
Biological Value (BV) of proteins is defined as, “the percentage of absorbed protein
nitrogen that is retained in the body”. A high BV thus indicates a high degree of utilization of the
amino acids of the protein. Animal protein foods have higher BV as compared to vegetable
protein foods. Net Protein Utilization (NPU) is defined as, “the percentage of protein eaten that
is retained. Protein rich foods are widely present in nature; from animal and vegetable sources.
Animal sources are liver, meat, egg & milk and the vegetable sources include legumes, soybean
and nuts.
Water
Water is essential for every living organism. In the human body, water content ranges
from 50-70% in different tissues. It is present in different fluid compartments of the human body
(Intracellular and extracellular fluids). Plasma, interstitial fluid, cerebro-spinal fluid, ocular fluid,
lymph, peritoneal, pericardial, pleural and synovial fluids are part of the extracellular fluid.
In infants, the body has a higher percentage of water (80%) with a higher percentage in
extracellular fluid. Thus it is essential to carefully maintain the infant’s intake and output. Any
disturbance causing changes in the extra cellular fluid could lead to dehydration.

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 The water must be safe, clean, and boiled if necessary. Tea, soup, milk, juice, and fruit
also contain water and can help meet the body’s needs. The caffeine in tea and coffee, however,
can dehydrate the body and should be drunk in moderation.
Dietary fibers
Also called roughages comprises of non-digestible carbohydrates e.g cellulose, lignins,
pectins, hemicellulose, gums and mucilage that cannot be digested by human digestive enzymes.
They are obtained from unrefined cereals, fruits, vegetables and pulses. Although dietary fibers
do not provide energy, but they have several invaluable beneficial effects on health such as:
a) Improvement of bowel motility and prevention of constipation: Dietary fibers absorbs
and retains large amount of water, it provides bulk to the intestinal content and improves
the bowel motility. The water insoluble fibers (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignins)
obtained from vegetables and unrefined cereals helps soften the stool which in turn
decreases the bowel transit time, reduce the risk of constipation, hemorrhoids and
diverticular diseases.
b) Reduces blood cholesterol level: water-soluble dietary fibers (pectins and gums) have
hypocholesterolemic effect by binding the dietary cholesterol and preventing its
absorption from the intestinal lumen. This helps eliminate the cholesterol in faeces. These
fibers also bind to bile acids and salts and prevent their reabsorption from gut. This
causes loss of bile acids in faeces, which in turn enhances the in vivo conversion of the
cholesterol into bile acids and promotes its disposal from the body.
c) Role in diabetes mellitus: Fibers like pectins, mucilage and gums delay the postprandial
rise in blood glucose level by slowing the rate of stomach emptying. This prevents a rapid
rise in blood glucose level after ingestion of diet and improves glucose tolerance of the
body.

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 NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS THROUGH THE LIFECYCLE
The nutrient requirements during the four main stages of the human lifecycle vary
considerably. What infants and children require is different from what adults and the elderly
need. In addition, there might be specific nutrients which a pregnant women and lactating
mothers need in higher amounts than adult men.
1. Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation
An unborn child needs a healthy and well-nourished mother to grow properly. Therefore, a
mother needs to gain weight during pregnancy to help nourish her growing baby. Women who
do not gain enough weight often have babies that weigh too little (low birth weight). A baby
weighing less than 2.5 kg has an increased chance of both physical and mental health problems.
It may also suffer more from infection and malnutrition compared with babies of normal weight.
As this is a critical window of opportunity to break the cycle of malnutrition which otherwise can
be passed from generation to generation.
If all babies are to be healthy and grow well, they must be fed breast milk. Breast milk is
food produced by the mother’s body especially for the baby, and it contains all the nutrients
(nourishment) a healthy baby needs. A lactating woman needs at least two extra meals (550
Kcal) of whatever is available at home. In addition a dose of vitamin A (200,000IU) should be
given once between delivery and six weeks after delivery. This will enable the baby to get an
adequate supply of vitamin A for the first six months. During the first six months the best way of
feeding the baby is for the mother to breastfeed exclusively.
Breast milk is the best and most nutritious food for the baby during the first two years. It has
several advantages for the baby compared to cow’s milk or other replacement food. Feeding for
the first 24 months should be based on exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, with
complementary foods introduced at six months in addition to ongoing breastfeeding.
Complementary food should be increased in frequency, amount and density (thickness and
nutrient content) as the child grows. Mothers should increase the frequency of breastfeeding and
complementary feeding (if the child has already started it) during illness. Mother should give a
diversified diet to their baby and include animal sources of foods to increase the density of
nutrients in the complementary food. HIV+ mothers should either exclusively breastfeed or
exclusively replacement feed. Mixed feeding is dangerous as it exposes the baby to mother-to-
child transmission of HIV.
2. Nutritional requirements in infancy, childhood and adolescence
The common feature of infancy, childhood and adolescence is that all these age groups are
undergoing rapid growth and development. This in turn poses a heavy demand on their
nutritional requirements.
Small children and infants do not have a well-developed body nutrient store, and therefore
are more vulnerable to infection. In addition they have a larger surface area compared to their
body size. All these factors increase their basal metabolic rate (BMR), resulting in an increased
requirement for nutrients.

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 Adolescents also undergo a very rapid growth during their puberty (called the pubertal
growth spurt). During the pubertal growth spurt, they increase rapidly both in weight and height.
Therefore, they need a nutrient intake that is proportional with their rate of growth. The growth
rate is very high right after birth (infancy). Then the growth rate slows down until the age of 12–
14 years. At about 15–16 years (the pubertal period) there is a sharp rise in growth rate/velocity.
After that, the growth rate slows down again. Requirements for macronutrients (proteins,
carbohydrates and fats) and micronutrients are higher on a per kilogram basis during infancy and
childhood than at any other developmental stage. These needs are influenced by the rapid cell
division occurring during growth, which requires protein, energy and fat.

3. Nutritional requirements during adulthood

The nutritional needs in adults of 19–50 years of age differ slightly according to gender. Males
require more of vitamins C, K, B1, B2 and B3, and zinc. Females require more iron, compared
with males of similar age. You have already seen that pregnant women and lactating mothers
have particular nutrient requirements that are necessary for their own health as well as the health
of their baby.

4. Nutritional requirements in old age

An elderly person requires less energy than a younger individual due to reductions in muscle
mass and physical activity. Some daily requirements for elderly people differ from those of
younger adults. For example, in order to reduce the risk for age related bone loss and fracture,
the requirement for vitamin D is increased from 200 IU/day to 400 in individuals of 51–70 years
of age and to 600 IU/day for those over 70 years of age. Suggested iron intakes reduce however
from 18 mg per day in women aged 19–50 to 8 mg/ day after age 50, due to better iron
conservation and decreased losses in postmenopausal women compared with younger women.
Some elderly people have difficulty getting adequate nutrition because of age or disease related
impairments in chewing, swallowing, digesting and absorbing nutrients. Their nutrient status
may also be affected by decreased production of chemicals to digest food (digestive enzymes),
changes in the cells of the bowel surface and drug–nutrient interactions. Some elderly people
demonstrate selenium deficiency, a mineral important for immune function. Impaired immune
function affects susceptibility to infections and tumors (malignancies). Vitamin B6 helps to boost
selenium levels, so a higher intake for people aged 51–70 is recommended.
Nutritional interventions should first emphasize healthy foods, with supplements playing
a secondary role. Although modest supplementary doses of micronutrients can both prevent
deficiency and support immune functions, very high dose supplementation (example, high dose
zinc) may have the opposite effect and result in immune-suppression. Therefore, elderly people
also need special attention with regard to nutritional care.

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 ENERGY REQUIREMENT OF BODY
Daily energy requirement (or daily energy expenditure) of an individual depends upon three
processes, which are:
1) Basal metabolic activities (basal metabolic rate i.e. BMR)
2) Specific dynamic action i.e. SDA (Thermogenic action of food)
3) Physical activity
Besides above processes, extra calories are required during growth, pregnancy and lactation
1) BASAL METABOLISM
This is the minimum energy required to carry on vital body processes at rest, which
include all the activities of the cells, glands, skeletal muscles tone, body temperature, circulation,
and respiration. In persons who are generally inactive physically, basal metabolic needs make up
the largest part, about two thirds, of the total energy requirement.
BMR is also expressed as kcal/24hrs. BMR is approximately 1800 kcal/24hrs and 1300
kcal/24hrs for moderate working adult males (70kg) and females (55kg) respectively.
Factors affecting basal metabolism
a) Size and shape
The greater the skin area, the greater will be the amount of heat lost by the body and, in turn,
greater the necessary heat production by the individual. E.g. tall person needs more food than
short person with the same weight.
b) Age and growth
They are responsible for normal variation in basal metabolism. The relative rate is highest during
the first and second years and decreases after that, although it is still relatively high through the
ages of puberty. During adult life there is a steady decrease in rate with a marked drop in old age.
c) Gender
Gender probably has little effect on metabolism. Women have a lower metabolism than men
because of more lean muscle mass in men.
d) Climate
Climate has little effect on BMR, which is always measured in a room temperature. However,
BMR is higher in residents of cold climate than those in warm climates.
e) Racial
Differences in metabolism have been noted. Eskimos have been reported to have a BMR above
other ethnic groups in USA
f) State of nutrition
In starvation or under nutrition the BMR is lower.
g) Diseases
Diseases such as infection or fevers raise the BMR in proportion to the elevation of the body
temperature. The internal secretion of certain glands such as the thyroid and the adrenal, affect
metabolism. Hyperthyroidism accelerates metabolism by increasing production of thyroxin.
Clinically, thyroxin is considered the most important hormone that can influence BMR as 1.0mg
of thyroxin can increase BMR by about 1000cal.
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 h) Pregnancy
After four months of gestation the BMR will increase, this is due to the additional BMR of
growing foetus.
i) Drugs
Drugs like caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and theophylline increases BMR. Beta-blockers cause
decrease in BMR
SIGNIFICANCE OF BMR
I. BMR helps in assessment of thyroid function
II. BMR helps to calculate the daily energy requirement when planning the diet of an
individual
III. It helps in diagnosis of leukemia, polycythemia, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism etc.
For example, BMR increase of 20-80% and 10-40% in leukemia and polycythemia,
respectively.

2) SPECIFIC DYNAMIC ACTION (SDA)

Specific action of food or thermogenic action of food is defined as the extra heat-energy
production over the actual calorific value of food. It is the stimulant action of food on heat-
energy production. For example, when 25g of protein whose calorific value is 100kcal is
ingested, 130kcal heat-energy is released after its metabolism inside the body. This extra 30kcal
(130kcal-100kcal=30kcal) is the SDA of protein. Thus, protein can increase the heat-energy
production by 30%.
Similarly, when carbohydrate equivalent to 100kcal is ingested, 105kcal heat-energy is liberated
after its metabolism inside the body, whereas ingestion of fat equivalent to 100kcal results in
112kcal. Thus, carbohydrates and fats can increase the heat energy production by 5% and 12%
respectively.
Because of the high SDA of proteins, they are not good source of energy. However, they are
important factor in regulation of body temperature making us feel warm in winter.

3) PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The daily energy requirement of body depends upon physical activity of an individual. The
amount of energy required per day by a person depends on the nature and duration of his/her
work. Physical activity can be divided into Sedentary, Moderate and Heavy workers. Infants
require about 110kcal/kg body weight/day. The daily caloric requirement of infants less than
1year is calculated on the basis of their body weight e.g. an infant with 10kg body weight
requires 110kcal/day (10x110kcal=1100kcal)

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 MALNUTRITION
Malnutrition is a general term that includes many conditions, including under-nutrition,
over-nutrition and micronutrient deficiency diseases (like vitamin A deficiency, iron deficiency
anemia, iodine deficiency disorders and scurvy).
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy
and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions. One is ‘under-
nutrition’ which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height),
underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of
important vitamins and minerals). The other is ‘overweight, obesity and diet-related non-
communicable diseases’ (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer).
Wasting, or thinness, is an indicator of acute (short-term) malnutrition. Wasting is usually the
result of recent food insecurity, infection or acute illness such as diarrhea. Measurement of
wasting or thinness is often used to assess the severity of an emergency situation, with severe
wasting being highly linked with the death of a child.
Stunting, or shortness, is an indicator of chronic (long-term) malnutrition. It’s often associated
with poor development during childhood and is one of the harmful effects of poverty. Stunting is
commonly used as an indicator for development, as it is highly related with poverty.
Underweight is an indicator of both acute and chronic malnutrition.
Underweight is a highly useful indicator when examining nutritional trends. It is the indicator
used to monitor the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of ending hunger, and targets of
halving the prevalence of underweight children and adults by 2015.
Classification of malnutrition
Protein-energy-malnutrition (PEM): A clinical syndrome present in infants and children as a
result of deficient intake and/or utilization of food.
1. Marasmus: Severe form of acute malnutrition that is characterized by wasting of body
tissues. Marasmic children are extremely thin.
2. Kwashiorkor: Severe form of acute malnutrition characterized by bilateral edema and
weight-for-height.
Causes of malnutrition
The causes of malnutrition can be very complex. Malnutrition is influenced by many
factors acting at multiple levels. These factors often act in a continuous cycle and include dietary
intake issues, diseases, food insecurity, in-adequate maternal and child healthcare and sanitation
services. Illiteracy and poverty may also influence the food intake of people in a community and
become causes of malnutrition.
1. Poor diet: If a child doesn’t get an adequate diet, they will become malnourished. The poor
diet might be due to not enough food, or a lack of variety of foods in meals; low concentrations
of energy and nutrients in meals; infrequent meals; insufficient breast milk; and early weaning.
2. Disease: Diseases, especially infectious diseases cause under-nutrition because a sick child
may not eat or absorb enough nutrients, or may lose nutrients from the body due to vomiting or
diarrhea, or have increased nutrient needs which are not met.
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The diseases most likely to cause under-nutrition are: measles; diarrhea; AIDS; respiratory
infections; malaria; and intestinal worms.
3. Inadequate care of children and women: Nutrition and healthcare are often determined by
the amount of care given to women and children, and this is strongly affected by a woman’s
workload, access to resources and her education. If the mother is busy, she might not have
enough time to breastfeed and care for her child. Many women are uneducated and have little
knowledge about feeding, childcare and hygiene. Thus, they lack awareness of the correct things
to do. These same women often cannot or do not attend clinics or women’s groups where they
could learn skills to improve their lives and that of their families.
4. Political factors: Certain political factors, such as policy decisions and economic situations
caused by inflation or war, can cause under-nutrition. A good example was the high level of
malnutrition amongst citizens during the Boko Haram insurgency.
5. Cultural factors: There may be many and it can be hard to get people to realize that these
beliefs have a negative impact on their or their children’s bodies. For example, abrupt weaning
due to pregnancy, the belief that food should not be given to a child who is suffering from
measles or diarrhea, and sharing food from the same bowl between different children, can result
in the child getting less than their body requirements, are examples of some of the cultural
factors that may affect nutrition.
6. Environmental or natural disasters: Drought, floods and earthquakes are other basic causes
that can lead to malnutrition. The 1977 drought of Ethiopia is a good example of a natural
disaster with terrible consequences.
7. Social factors: Poverty is the reason that some families cannot produce or buy more food.
Men often leave home to search for work, leaving women to bring up children alone. Poverty can
lead to family quarrels and child abuse. Often women have less access to money, land and other
resources, and less control over family decisions than men.
Kwashiorkor
This is an African word that means ‘weaning disease’. It is caused by chronic inadequate
intake of protein with adequate intake of calories. It is mostly seen in children >1-4years. It
occurs in the 2nd year of life when the child is weaned from breast milk to traditional family diet
deficient in protein but adequate carbohydrate. Protein deficiency is endemic in West Africa,
where the diet mostly contains grains. Poverty, repeated pregnancies, early and abrupt weaning
are predisposing factors of kwashiorkor.
Major clinical features are protruding belly, retarded growth, oedema, thin, brittle and
depigmented hairs, and diarrhea. Oedema (on hands and lower limbs) is distinguishing feature of
kwashiorkor and occurs due to hypoalbuminemia. The disease is also characterized by
diminished humoral and cell-mediated immune response which results in increased susceptibility
to infections. Children who survive a long period of protein deficiency have poor mental ability
and show physical retardation.

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 Marasmus
This a Greek word meaning ‘to waste’. Marasmus is a caloric starvation and is caused by
chronic inadequate intake of calories. Marasmus is usually seen in infants less than one year
when they receive the breast milk of malnourished mother and are been bottle-fed.
Marasmus usually occurs in famine areas where mothers do not receive proper diet and
remain malnourished and the growing infants are given thin watery gruels deficient in protein
and calories. Common clinical features are retarded growth, extreme muscle wasting and
weakness. The patients of marasmus do not show edema as seen in kwashiorkor.

OVERNUTRITION- Obesity
This is the common problem of over-nutrition and results more often from overeating
(excess caloric intake). Lack of physical exercise and sedentary life also contribute to obesity.
Obesity is characterized by increase in body weight due to excessive accumulation of fat in the
adipose tissues. The dietary calories are obtained from energy-yielding nutrients (fat,
carbohydrate and protein). The different type of obesity are:
a) Juvenile-onset obesity
b) Maturity-onset obesity
c) Hormone-related obesity
d) Drug induced obesity
e) Genetic predisposition
Obesity is an important risk factor in development of type II diabetes mellitus, CHD, stroke,
hypertension, osteoarthritis among other diseases.

Fortification of foods
Fortification of a widely consumed centrally processed staple food with a nutrient is one way of
controlling deficiencies of certain nutrients such as iron, vitamin B1 and vitamin A in many
countries.
Fortification of a nutrient is the addition of the deficient nutrient supplements in processed
dietary components in factories. In industrialized countries the most commonly fortified food
products are Wheat flour, Bread, Milk products, Infant formulas.
In Nigeria, the most important foods fortified are
􀂃 Sugar
􀂃 Salt
􀂃 Oil

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Food diversification
Food diversification is an important strategy, which is considered as a long term and sustainable
strategy for the prevention of vitamin A deficiency. In this regard, people should be encouraged
to grow and consume vitamin A rich foods at a vast scale in all regions

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Fat soluble Vitamins
Vitamin A or Retinol
Vitamin A is the general term used for several chemically related compounds such as retinol,
retinaldehyde, retinoic acid and retinyl-esters. Out of these retinol is the major natural occurring
form (Vitamin A alcohol). Retinol is a pale yellow solid, which dissolves freely in oils and fats
and is slightly soluble in water. It is relatively heat and alkali stable and unstable in light and to
acid. It is found in fatty parts of foods especially animal foods. Retinol is a complex unsaturated
alcohol. In animal tissues it is stored and transported as an ester formed with a long-chain fatty
acid.
Functions
1. Retinol has an important function in the visual process; necessary for vision in dim light.
2. Its necessary for maintaining the integrity of healthy epithelium especially the membrane
line of eyes, mouth, gastrointestinal, respiratory and genitourinary tract.
3. Its required for normal skeletal growth and tooth development.
4. Vitamin A also facilitates other functions such as for reproductive cycle, in iron
metabolism.
5. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant. It helps to protect the easily oxidized nutrients,
such as PUFAs, from oxidation. It is also able to protect the body from the harmful
effects of the free radicals in the body.
One of the earliest signs of vitamin A deficiency is known as ‘Night blindness’-a condition when
it is difficult to see in dim light. It is caused by shortage of retinol derivative called ‘rhodopsin’.
Vitamin A is essential for the maintenance of healthy skin and mucous membranes. Long-term
deficiency causes dead cells to accumulate on surface of eye making it dry and opaque
(xerophthalmia). In case of infection and ulceration of cornea (keratomalacia) and may lead to
blindness. This is a major public health problem in the country.
Retinol is found in animal tissues (liver, egg yolk) and dairy products (whole milk, butter,
cheese). Fish liver oils are the richest source. Carotenes are found in plant tissues such as dark
green vegetables (spinach, Adamsonia digitata leaves, etc.) and yellow fruits and vegetables
(carrot, pumpkin, papaya, mango etc.) are good sources of carotene. Crude palm oil is also rich
source of carotene.
Vitamin E or Tocopherols
Vitamin E is a term used for tocopherols and tocotrienols and their derivatives. It is light yellow
oil, stable to high heat and acid but decomposition occurs in UV light. Oxidation occurs in
presence of rancid acid, lead and iron salts. In nature, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols
occur, the difference being the number and the position of methyl groups on the chromanol ring.
In addition several types of synthetic Vitamin E are available.
Function

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The principal role of vitamin E is that it serves as an antioxidant, though the exact mechanism is
not yet known. Various other functions are as follows:
a) Regulation of immune response through cell mediated immunity.
b) Protects from various diseases like cancer, arthritis and ischemic heart disease by preventing
peroxidation and maintaining integrity of cellular membrane.
c) Prevents oxidation of beta carotene, vitamin A and vitamin C. Prevents lipid peroxidation of
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in cells.
d) In rats, Vitamin E affects the reproductive biology. But no such definitive role has been
observed in human subjects.
e) The vitamin derivative is found to be necessary for Coenzyme Q synthesis.
f) They are used in the food industry as antioxidants and permitted food additives.
Most cereal germ oils like wheat germ oil, corn oil and cottonseed oil are good dietary sources.
Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol)
Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) is a naturally occurring form on animal cells. It is obtained
endogenously, by the action of ultraviolet light on 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to form
Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol). Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) is found in plants, and is produced
when ergosterol is exposed to ultraviolet light. Dietary Vitamin D2 major source is fish, and
some fortified margarines. Vitamin D is white crystalline solid, freely soluble in oils and fats.
Vitamin D is stored in the liver.
The vitamin helps to absorb calcium and phosphorus by the body which are needed for the
formation of bones and teeth. Good sources of vitamin D are exposure to sunlight, fish liver oil
and animal foods such as egg yolk, liver and sardines have small amounts.
Vitamin K
Vitamin comprises of compounds derived from menadione (2 methyl-1, 4 naphthaquinone). It
exists in two forms in nature; vitamin K1- phylloquinone and K2 -menaquinone. K1 is present in
various green leafy vegetables like spinach and K 2 in gastrointestinal tract of human and some
animals as it can be synthesized in bowel by microorganism. These both are fat soluble, heat
stable vitamin, but are unstable to strong acid, alkali, sunlight and oxidation.
The main function is in the formation of a number of coagulation factors like Prothrombin factor
II, VII, IX and X. Green leafy vegetables are good sources of vitamin K.

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