Nutrients and their

functions Part 3
By Richard Nabia
Department of Hotel Catering and Institutional
Management
Bolgatanga Technical University
Course: Nutrition

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Water Soluble Vitamins
• All water-soluble vitamins play a different kind of role in energy
metabolism
• They are required as functional parts of enzymes involved in energy
release and storage.
• In addition to being essential for metabolism, many vitamins are
required for blood renewal and function.
• At insufficient levels in the diet ,these vitamins impair the health.

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 Water Soluble Vitamins: Vitamin C
• Vitamin C, also commonly called ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble
micronutrient essential in the diet for humans.
• Some mammals can make their own vitamin C. Cats are an example
• Vitamin C is a highly effective antioxidant.
• It protects lipids both by disabling free radicals and by aiding in the
regeneration of vitamin E.
• Vitamin C is also essential for making and maintaining collagen. Collagen is
for different functions such as the structure for ligaments, tendons, and
blood vessels and also scars that bind wounds together. Vitamin C acts as the
glue that holds the collagen fibers together and without sufficient levels in
the body, collagen strands are weak and abnormal.

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The Role of Vitamin C in Collagen Synthesis

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 Water Soluble Vitamins: Vitamin C
• Vitamin C levels in the body are affected by the amount in the diet
• Such that the higher the intake, the more vitamin C is excreted.
• Vitamin C is not stored in any significant amount in the body, but once it has
reduced a free radical, it is very effectively regenerated and therefore it can
exist in the body as a functioning antioxidant for many weeks.
• The condition associated with vitamin C deficiency is scurvy. The signs and
symptoms of scurvy include skin disorders, bleeding gums, painful joints,
weakness, depression, and increased susceptibility to infections.
• Scurvy is prevented by having an adequate intake of fruits and vegetables rich
in vitamin C
• Vitamin C also improves immunity

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Vitamin C: Dietary Sources
• Citrus fruits are great sources of vitamin C and so are many vegetables
• Examples are oranges , lemon, amaranthus (Alefu). Hibiscus (bito or bera).
• Because vitamin C is water-soluble, it leaches away from foods considerably
during cooking, freezing, thawing, and canning. Up to 50 percent of vitamin C
can be boiled away. Therefore, to maximize vitamin C intake from foods, you
should eat fruits and vegetables raw or lightly steamed.

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 Water Soluble Vitamin: Vitamin B1
(Thiamine)
• Thiamin is especially important in glucose metabolism. It acts as a cofactor for
enzymes that break down glucose for energy production .
• Thiamin plays a key role in nerve cells because the glucose that is catabolized
by thiamin is energy source for nerve cells.
• Additionally, thiamin plays a role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters and is
therefore required for RNA, DNA, and ATP synthesis.
• Dietary Sources : Whole grains, meat and fish are great sources of thiamin
• Examples are parboiled rice, beans, wheat, sorghum, millets, meat, fish

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Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Defeciency
• The brain and heart are most affected by a deficiency in thiamin.
• Thiamin deficiency, also known as beriberi, can cause symptoms of fatigue,
confusion, movement impairment, pain in the legs, swelling, and heart failure.
It is prevalent in societies whose main dietary diet is polished rice
• Berberi means I can’t … I can’t in an Asian language
• Another thiamin deficiency known as Wernicke- Korsakoff syndrome can cause
similar symptoms as beriberi such as confusion, loss of coordination, vision
changes, hallucinations, and may progress to coma and death.
• This condition is specific to alcoholics because high alcohol consumption can
cause thiamin deficiency. Other individuals at risk include individuals who also
consume diets typically low in micronutrients such as those with eating
disorders, elderly, and individuals who have gone through gastric bypass
surgery
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Sample Case Study

Tongo Jay Z ( popularly called T Jay Z) is a 38 year old man. He works at a

galamsey site in the Talensi District. He makes a lot of money daily. For the past
6 months, T Jay Z spends his evening drinking 2-3 bottles of akpeteshie at the
bar. He has no appetite afterwards so he usually eats little food. The food he eats
is polished rice with pepper. He also smokes a lot. During lunch he eats kaanfa
mashed with sugar. The rest of the time he is either drinking akpeteshie or
smoking cigarettes.
Last week he fell severely sick. He says his eyes are turning but people say he
looks confused. His joints hurt a lot. He sees and mentions things that do not
exists. His general health is failing. At the Tongo hospital, the health workers
said he has to quit smoking and drinking. However, to get back his health
quickly, he needs to eat foods that are high in vitamin B1
1. Explain beriberi to T jay Z
2. Looking at the types of food he eats, is suffering from beriberi of we
3. Give the menu for three meals that are high in Vitamin B1 Vitamin B1 deficiency. Image by
Casimir Funk (1914) / No known copyright
restrictions

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 Water Soluble Vitamins : Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
• Is a B vitamin that is needed for energy metabolism
• Riboflavin is an essential component of flavoproteins, which are
coenzymes involved in many metabolic pathways of
carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism
• Riboflavin can be found in a variety of different foods but it is
important to remember that it can be destroyed by sunlight.
Milk is one of the best sources of riboflavin in the diet. ( meat,
tuna, brown rice, oats, wheat
• Packaging of milk is opaque containers or cardboard to help
block the light from destroying the riboflavin inside

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Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin Deficiency)
• Riboflavin deficiency, sometimes referred to as ariboflavinosis,
is often accompanied by other dietary deficiencies (most
notably protein) and can be common in people that suffer from
alcoholism.
• This deficiency will usually also occur in conjunction with
deficiencies of other B vitamins because the majority of B
vitamins have similar food sources.
• Its signs and symptoms include dry, scaly skin, cracking of the
lips and at the corners of the mouth, sore throat, itchy eyes,
and light sensitivity.
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 Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
• Niacin is a component of the coenzymes NADH and NADPH, which are
involved in the catabolism and/or anabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and
proteins
• In contrast to other vitamins, niacin can be synthesized by humans from the
amino acid tryptophan.
• Niacin can be found in a variety of different foods such as yeast, meat,
poultry, red fish, and cereal. In plants, especially mature grains, niacin can be
bound to sugar molecules which can significantly decrease the niacin
bioavailability Niacin deficiency is commonly known as pellagra and the
symptoms include fatigue, decreased appetite, and indigestion. These
symptoms are then commonly followed by the four D’s: diarrhea, dermatitis,
dementia, and sometimes death
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 Vitamin B 3 Deficiency

• Niacin deficiency is commonly known as pellagra and

the symptoms include fatigue, decreased appetite,
and indigestion. These symptoms are then commonly
followed by the four D’s: diarrhea, dermatitis,
dementia, and sometimes death

Pellagra. Image by Herbert L. Fred, MD,

Hendrik A. van Dijk
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 Water Soluble Vitamin: Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
• Vitamin B6 is a coenzyme involved in a wide variety of functions in the
body.
• One major function is making and breaking down proteins.
• Also, it functions to release glucose from glycogen
• It is required by enzymes for the synthesis of many neurotransmitters.
• Vitamin B6 is also a required for the synthesis of hemoglobin. A deficiency
in vitamin B6 can cause anemia, but it is of a different type than that
caused by insufficient folate, cobalamin (B12) iron. However the
symptoms are similar . Other deficiency symptoms of vitamin B6 are
dermatitis, mouth sores, and confusion.

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 Dietary Sources of vitamin B6
• Vitamin B6 can be found in a variety of foods. The richest sources include fish,
beef liver and other organ meats, potatoes, and vegetables and fruits.

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 Vitamin B 12 (Folate)
• Folate is a forms a coenzyme that is needed for making the amino acid
methionine, and for making RNA and DNA.
• Therefore, rapidly dividing cells are most affected by folate deficiency.
Red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are continuously being
made
• When folate is deficient, cells cannot divide normally. A consequence of
folate deficiency is macrocytic or megaloblastic anemia. Macrocytic and
megaloblastic mean “big cell,” and anemia refers to fewer red blood cells
or red blood cells containing less hemoglobin.

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Folate and formation of macrocytic anemia

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 Vitamin B 9 (Folate)
• Folate is especially essential for the growth and specialization of cells of the
central nervous system.
• Children whose mothers were folate-deficient during pregnancy have a
higher risk of neural-tube birth defects.
• Folate deficiency is causally linked to the development of spina bifida, a
neural-tube defect that occurs when the spine does not completely enclose
the spinal cord.
• Spina bifida can lead to many physical and mental disabilities

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Spina Bifida in Infants

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 Dietary Sources of Vitamin B9 (Folate)
• Folate is from the word foliar. Foliar means leaves.
• Found in green leafy vegetables. The deeper the green color the more the
folate. Therefore alefu has more folate than lettuce or cabbage. Other
vegetables include hibiscus (beto or bera), pumpkin leaves, bean leafs
• Liver of animals
• Whole grains including parboiled rice, millet, maize and so on.

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The Situation in Ghana
• Currently, half of all women in their reproductive ages are deficient in
folate in Ghana. (University of Ghana, GroundWork, University of Wisconsin-Madison, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust,
UNICEF. Ghana Micronutrient Survey 2017. Accra, Ghana; 2017)

• This means that without any intervention, Ghanaian mothers may

have babies with NTD (neural tube defects)
• To correct this, all pregnant women are given iron and folate
(sometimes vitamin B12 is added) supplements during ante natal
visits
• Also, bread flours are fortified with iron, folate and vitamin B 12

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Vitamin B12 ( Cobalamin)
• Vitamin B12 is an essential part of coenzymes. It is necessary for fat and
protein catabolism
• For folate to function and for hemoglobin synthesis vitamin B12 must be
present. Therefore a deficiency in vitamin B12 has similar consequences to
health as folate deficiency.
• In children and adults vitamin B12 deficiency causes macrocytic anemia, and
in babies born to cobalamin-deficient mothers there is an increased risk for
neural-tube defects.
• In order for the human body to absorb vitamin B12, the stomach, pancreas,
and small intestine must be functioning properly. Cells in the stomach secrete
a protein called intrinsic factor that is necessary for vitamin B12 absorption,
which occurs in the small intestine.
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Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)
• Vitamin B12 is found naturally in animal products such as fish, meat,
poultry, eggs, and milk products. Vitamin B12 is not generally present
in plant foods naturally.

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