Vitamins and minerals

 Nutrients are grouped into two major classes:

 Macronutrients: are nutrients that are needed by the body in large
amounts. Eg., carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Those provides
molecules for the structural and metabolic activities of the human body.
 Micronutrients: are those needed by the body in minute amounts.
 Eg., vitamins and minerals.
 Are essential for the body’s proper functioning.
 The need for micronutrients depends on the metabolic activities as well
as on the life cycle of an individual.
 Even in intrauterine life, the need for micronutrients is essential for the
normal development of the fetus. In particular, vitamin D, iodine, iron,
and folic acid deficiencies could lead to congenital disorders or even
death.
Vitamins and Minerals
The two important classes of micronutrients are …….
 Water-Soluble Vitamins
 Most of the vitamins can be dissolved in water.
 They are difficult to store in the body and get flushed out in urine when
consumed in large quantities.
 They play an important role in producing energy.
 Since they are not stored in the body, it is important to take them enough
from different food sources.
 For instance:-they are precursors of coenzymes: riboflavin, for example, is
required for the synthesis of the flavin coenzymes, niacin for NAD+ and
NADP+, thiamine for thiamine pyrophosphate, pantothenic acid for
coenzyme A, and folic acid for tetrahydrofolate.
 Vitamins and Minerals….

 Fat-Soluble Vitamins
 These vitamins do not dissolve in water.
 These are stored in the liver and fatty tissues for future use.
 Eg.,Vitamins A, D, E, and K are important fat-soluble vitamins.
 They play a major role in the proper functioning of the immune system,
proper bone development, proper vision, and protection of cells from damage.

 For instance: Vit A has importance in various other cellular functions,

unrelated to visual process is also being recognized:
 Retinal is involved in vision.
 Retinoic acid is involved in growth and cellular
differentiation.
 Retinol is necessary for the reproductive system.
 Cont’d
 Macrominerals
 These are required in higher amounts as compared to the trace minerals.
 For instance:
•Calcium- For the proper structure and function of bones.
•Phosphorus – Cell membrane structure
•Magnesium- Enzyme reactions
•Sodium- Fluid balance and maintenance of blood pressure
•Chloride- Maintains fluid balance and formation of digestive juices.
•Potassium- Nerve impulse transmission and muscle function.
•Sulphur- present in all the living tissues.
 Trace Minerals
 These are required in very small amounts, but perform various important
functions in our body. Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, I, F, and Se are some of the important
trace minerals required by the body.
 Dietary Vitamin Deficiencies
 Inadequate dietary intake due to faulty dietary habits or poverty.
 Inadequate intestinal absorption, which may result from various
gastrointestinal disorders, or from biliary obstruction. The latter may lead to
deficiency of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) since bile is required
for their absorption.
 Inadequate utilization by the target tissues may also lead to vitamin
deficiency, even when dietary intake and absorption are normal. This
Causes of inadequate use include:
 Lack of transport prot
 eins that carry the vitaminsto the peripheral sites where they are utilized.
 Defective uptake of the vitamins by the target tissues or impaired
interaction of the (fat-soluble) vitamins with the receptors located on target
tissues and Failure to convert the vitamin precursor(s) to activated
 Dietary Vitamin Deficiencies,…
 Increased requirements which occur during pregnancy, lactation, growth,
wound healing and convalescence.
 In some cases, an increased requirement precipitates a borderline
deficiency into a frank deficiency.
 Drug-induced deficiency such as loss of vitamin synthesis in the
gastrointestinal tract due to elimination of the microorganisms by antibiotics.
Eg.,Pyridoxine deficiency develops in patients receiving isoniazid for the
treatment of tuberculosis (isoniazid forms a hydrazone with pyridoxal; the
pyridoxal hydrazone is rapidly excreted in urine, and the vitamin deficiency
results).In general; Absolute or relative deficiencies of individual vitamins
cause characteristic diseases or syndromes, whose symptoms can be
traced to specific metabolic functions of the missing nutrient.
 They are a major public health concern, especially for such at-risk groups as
infants, pregnant women, alcoholics and the elderly.
In summary;
 In summary;…

Total body content (in moles) of some minerals in adult male of 70kg body
weight