VITAMINS

Dr. Lotfi S. Bin Dahman Ph.D.; M.D

Medical Biochemistry
 VITAMINS
• Vitamins are a diverse group of organic molecules required in very
small quantities (microgram or milligram range)in the diet for health,
growth, and survival.
• Absence or inadequate intake results in characteristic
deficiency signs and ultimately, death.
• Most vitamins are used for:
1.Synthesis of coenzymes, complex organic molecules that assist
enzymes in catalyzing biochemical reactions, and deficiency
symptoms reflect an inability of cells to carry out certain
reactions
2.Some acts as hormones
 CLASSIFICATION OF VITAMINS
• vitamins are often divided into two classes,
water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble
vitamins
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
acts as a coenzyme for number of metabolic
processes;
Conversion of Pyruvate to Acetyl CoA
Its deficiency leads to impaired carbohydrate
metabolism, potentially to life-threatening
lactic acidosis
 RIBOFLAVIN (B2)

• Acts as a hydrogen carrier (oxidation-reduction)

• Active form of riboflavin are:
1. Flavin adenine dinucleotide; FAD
2. Flavin mononucleotide; FMN
 Niacin (B3)
• It is part of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
(NAD) and NADP
• Formation of NAD and NADP (Hydrogen carrier).
• Lowering plasma cholesterol (inhibiting acetyl CoA).
• Formation of ADP-ribose for ribosylation of protein
and DNA
 PYRIDOXINE (B6)
• Pyridoxal phosphate acts as a coenzyme for large
number of enzymes:
• Transamination reactions
• Heme synthesis
• Niacin synthesis
• acts as a coenzyme of glycogen phosphorylase
(conversion of glycogen into glucose; glycogenolysis)
 ASCORBATE (C)
• Formation of collagen protein
• Absorption and mobilization of Iron: Ascorbic acid is a
potent reducing agent, keeping iron in ferrous state
• acts as a coenzyme for many hydroxylase enzymes
In the pathways of:
1. Bile acids synthesis
2. Osteocalcln synthesis
3. Carnitine synthesis: carnitine stimulates fatty acid
oxidation In mitochondria
4. Epinephrine synthesis
 ASCORBATE (C)

Hydroxylation of proline and lysine residues in collagen. Proline and lysine

residues within the collagen chains are hydroxylated by reactions that require
vitamin C.
Water Soluble DRI Sources Deficiency
Vitamin C F: 75 mg Citrus fruits; potatoes; Scurvy: defective collagen
M: 90 mg peppers, broccoli, formation leading to
UL: 2g spinach; strawberries subcutaneous hemorrhage,
aching bones, joints, and muscle
in adults, rigid position and pain in
infants.

Thiamine F: 1.1 mg Enriched cereals and Beri-beri: (wet) Edema; anorexia,

M: 1.2 mg breads; unrefined grains; weight loss; apathy, decrease in
pork; legumes, seeds, short-term memory, confusion;
nuts irritability; muscle weakness;
enlarged heart

Riboflavin F: 1.1 mg Dairy products; fortified Ariboflavinosis: Sore throat;

M: 1.3 mg cereals; meats, poultry, cheilosis, angular stomatis;
fish; legumes glossitis, magenta tongue;
seborrheic dermatitis; anemia

Niacin F: 14 mg Meat: chicken, beef, fish; Pellagra: Pigmented rash in areas

M: 16 mg enriched cereals or exposed to sunlight; vomiting;
UL: 35 mg whole grains; most foods constipation or diarrhea; bright
red tongue; neurologic symptoms
 Water DRI Sources Deficiency
Soluble
Vitamin B6 F: 1.3 mg Chicken, fish, pork; eggs; Seborrheic dermatitis;
(pyridoxine) M: 1.3 mg fortified cereals, unmilled microcytic anemia;
UL: 100 mg rice, oats; starchy epileptiform convulsions;
vegetables; noncitrus fruits depression and confusion

Folic Acid F: 400 ug Citrus fruits; dark green Impaired cell division and
Folate M: 400 ug vegetables; fortified cereals growth; megaloblastic anemia;
and breads; legumes neural tube defect
Vitamin B12 F: 2.4 ug Animal products Megaloblastic anemia
Cobalamin M: 2.4 ug Neurologic symptoms
Biotin F: 30 ug Liver, egg yolk Conjunctivitis; central nervous
M: 30 ug system abnormalities; glossitis;
alopecia; dry, scaly dermatitis
Pantothenic F: 5 mg Wide distribution in foods, Irritability and restlessness;
acid M: 5 mg especially animal tissues; fatigue, apathy, malaise;
whole grain cereals; gastrointestinal symptoms;
legumes neurological symptoms
 Fat Soluble Vitamins
• Solubility of a vitamin can affect how it is absorbed,
transported, and stored in the body
• The absorption of fat-soluble vitamins is via a complex
absorptive process in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT)
• After absorption, these vitamins are transported in the
blood bound to carrier proteins and stored either in the
liver or in fat tissues
• When required, these vitamins can be mobilized from
their storage sites
• The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K.
 Vitamin A
• Vitamin A is commonly known as retinol. Retinol and
related compounds have three main functions in humans:
1. Vision: retinal is present in the rods and cones of the
retina; it changes state when hit by a photon of light,
causing membrane potential changes which are then
relayed to the brain.
2. Control of differentiation and proliferation: retinoids are
required by certain types of cells, notably epithelial and
bone cells.
3. Glycoprotein synthesis: retinyl phosphate is a cofactor in
the synthesis of certain glycoproteins.
 Vitamin D
• Vitamin D2 also known as ergocalciferol and is the
semi-synthetic form used to fortify certain foodstuffs
• Vitamin D3 commonly known as cholecalciferol is the
naturally occurring form found in dairy produce and
eggs
• Both forms of vitamin D are rapidly converted in the
liver to 25-hydroxy forms, which undergo further
conversion in the kidneys to 1,25-dihydroxy forms.
• Skin , liver, kidneys are sites of vitamin D synthesis
 Vitamin D
• Vitamin D₃, a cholecalciferol is obtained from the diet or exposure of
skin to sunlight
• In hepatocytes, vitamin D₃ is hydroxylated 25-hydroxycholecalciferol
• In kidneys, 25-OH-D₃ is hydroxylated to 1,25-dihydroxycholcalciferol
(1,25-OH-D₃) by the action of 1α-hydroxylase
• 1,25-OH-D₃ increases Ca²⁺ absorption in the intestine and enhances
effect of PTH on bone resorption
 Vitamin D Action
• In kidneys: calcitriol inhibits its own synthesis and
stimulates Ca²⁺ reabsorption (together with PTH)
• In GIT:
1. Induces active absorption of calcium in the small
bowel cells; dominant mechanism of Ca²⁺
absorption in human
2. Synthesis of calcium-binding protein (calbindin-D) in
enterocytes
 Vitamin D Action
• In the bone:
1. Stimulates differentiation of osteoclast precursors to
osteoclasts
2. Stimulates osteoblasts to influence osteoclasts to
mobilize bone calcium
3. Its binding to osteoblasts increases ALP production and
osteocalcin (Ca²⁺binding protein): Bone mineralization
4. At high concentration, calcitriol stimulates osteoclasts,
release Ca²⁺ & PO₄⁻ into ECF: Bone resorption
 Vitamin E
• Vitamin E also known as tocopherol
• acts as antioxidant and free radical scavenger,
principally protecting lipids (cell membranes) from
oxidation (hemolytic anemia).
 Vitamin K
1. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone and phytomenadione)
2. K2 (menaquinone): naturally
3. K3 (menadione): synthetic compound used
therapeutically.
• The principal role of vitamin K is in blood clotting;
essential for the function of clotting factors II, VII, IX,
and X
• Warfarin inhibits the regeneration of vitamin K and the
resulting inhibition of clotting is used therapeutically.
• Vitamin K deficiency causes hemorrhage
 Sources
Vitamin A Carrots; Dark green and
leafy vegetables; sweet
potatoes and squash;
broccoli
Vitamin K Green leafy vegetables;
cabbage family (brassica);
Bacterial flora of intestine
Vitamin D Fortified milk; Exposure of
skin to sunlight
Vitamin E Vegetable oils, margarine;
wheat germ; nuts; green
leafy vegetables
Deficiency
Night blindness; xerophthalmia;
keratinization of epithelium in GI,
respiratory and genitourinary tract, skin
becomes dry and scaly
Defective blood coagulation;
hemorrhagic anemia of the newborn
Rickets (in children); inadequate bone
mineralization (osteomalacia)
Muscular dystrophy, neurologic
abnormalities