VITAMINS AND MINERALS

Vitamins
Notes Function
Vitamins Organic compounds essential for specific metabolic reactions, cannot be synthesized by human cells = dietary essentials
Deficiency – primary (inadequate dietary intake) or secondary (Inadequate absorption, Impaired transport, Increased requirement, Increased loss or excretion, Drugs
Fat Soluble absorbed with other lipids, requires bile and pancreatic juice, transported to liver via lymph as part of lipoproteins, stored in various tissues (may lead to toxicity), not normally excreted in urine

Heat stable, UV sensitive, as vitamin or carotene (α,β,γ cryptoxanthine, not as potent as retinol), β carotene (most effective, proVit form, 2 retinols) • Growth & maintenance of epithelial tissue
A / Retinol Metabolism – retinyl ester (animal) or β carotene (plant)  chylomicron transport in lymph to liver for storage  mobilized as retinol bound to RBP to
target organs  RBP receptors in targets (eyes, epithelium)
• Part of visual pigments (11-cis retinal)
• Teratogen
Precursors in sterol fractions 7-deOHcholesterol (animals) or ergosterol (plants), requires UV irradiation to become proVit form D3 cholecalciferol and D2 • Ca absorption by generating CBP
D/ (needs 10-15 min of UV)
• Phosphate absorption
Calciferol Metabolism – cholecalciferol + UV  7-deOHcholesterol in skin  25-OHcholecalciferol in liver, 1,25 OH cholecalciferol in kidneys
Deficiency – rickets (children, bowlegs, knock-knees, rachitic rosary), osteomalacia (adults, waddling gait, tetany) • ↑ Bone resorption, ↑ Ca reabsorption

E/ From tocopherols and tocotrienols, stable to heat and acid, unstable to alkali, UV and oxygen, destroyed with Pb, Fe, rancid fats, inefficient absorption • Antioxidant (anti-PUFA peroxidation, anti-VitA
Tocopherol (20-30%), most active as α-tocopherol, normal αTE:PUFA ratio = 0.4 oxidation)
• Free radical scavenger
K / Anti- Quinones, 3 forms: K1 (phylloquinone, green plants), K2 (menaquinone, water-soluble, bacterial action in GI, none in newborn), K3 (menadione, fat-
hemorrhagi soluble, twice as potent, in newborns, no long side-chains); heat-resistant, transported via chylomicrons & lipoproteins, concentrated in liver • Cofactor for Glu to Gla carboxylase (to become better
c factor Deficiency – due to malabsorption, GI flora destruction; causes abnormal bleeding Ca chelators)
Water-soluble components of enzyme systems, no precursor vit in general, does not require fat and bile for absorption, not normally stored in appreciable amounts, readily excreted in urine (must be replenished), rarely toxic
 2 forms (thiamin pyrophosphate TPP or thiamin triphosphate TTP), thiaminase in uncooked freshwater fish and shellfish destroys 50% of thiamin, dry B1 is • TPP – oxidative decarboxylation of Pyr to aCoA
B1 / Thiamin stable, acid B1 heat-stable, tea has anti-thiamin factor, alcohol inhibits absorption and storage • Oxidative decarboxylation of other α-ketoacids
Deficiency – dry beriberi (nervous symptoms, muscle wasting), wet beriberi (edema, effusions), acute pernicious beriberi (cardiovascular) • Coenzyme for transketolase in PPP
• FMN & FAD when combined with phosphoric acid
B2 / Ribose + flavin, stable to heat, oxidation & acid, sensitive to alkali (baking soda) & UV, thyroxine-dependent flavokinase = B2  coenzyme form
Riboflavin Deficiency – cheilosis (lip inflammation, angular stomatitis [fissure at mouth angle]), ocular disturbances • Prosthetic group of flavoprotein enzymes for redox
• H carriers in ETC
Nicotinic acid  active nicotinamide, whitish crystalline, more stable than thiamin, resistant to heat, light, air, acids & alkali, ↓ serum cholesterol, 3g/day
B3 / Niacin
Deficiency – pellagra (dermatitis, dementia, diarrhea, death), due to unabsorbable tryptophan in corn • Part of NAD & NADP for redox (H acceptors)

• PLP & PMP CHON metab & transamination

3 interchangeable forms (Pyridoxine, Pyridoxal PO4 (PLP), Pyridoxamine PO4 (PMP)), crystalline, odorless, water/alcohol soluble, unstable to alkali and
coenzymes
light, PLP bound to albumin, muscle is prime reservoir
B6
Deficiency – peripheral neuritis (tingling fingers, INH), CNS abnormalities (irritability, convulsions, due to no inhibitory NT) • PLP – α-aminolevulinic acid formation, Trp  niacin,
OCP users have depression, ↑ W, ↓ niacin, no B6; anti-PMS metab, linoleic  arachidonic acid, sphingolipids
(myelin), GABA synthesis

Part of pterin compounds, yellow, crystalline, insoluble acid, stable disodium salt, pteroglutamic acid from pteridine+PABA, • Single-carbon carrier (formyl, –CH2OH or –CH2)
Synthesis – only monoglutamates are absorbed in small intestine then changes to methyltetrahydrofolate acid (storage form) + Glutamate = Folate + • Nucleic acid (G, A,T) & AA metab (Ser, Gly, Met, His)
B9 / Folate
NAD = tetrahydrofolic acid (THFA) + single carbon = formylTHFA or citrovorum factor (more stable) • WBC and RBC formation and maturation
Deficiency – poor growth, megaloblastic anemia, glossitis, neural tube defects in infants (must be supplemented)
• Heme formation – single carbon carrier
Active forms (cyanocobalamin, hydroxycobalamin), water-soluble, red, crystalline due to Cobalt 3+ chelated in large tetrapyrrole ring (similar to
porphyrin), cyanocobalamin most stable form • Cell metabolism
B12 / • Transfer of methyl groups in nucleic acid synthesis
B12 released from peptide bonds by HCl + Intrinsic factor (Castles) = absorption via receptors in ileum, stored as transcobalamin in liver and kidneys
Cobalamin
Deficiency – megaloblastic anemia, pernicious (if no CIF), glossitis, hypospermia, GI symptoms, neurologic syndrome (numbness, muscle weakness), • Affects myelin formation
strict vegetarians at risk

B5 /
• Part of CoA, fatty acid degradation as part of aCoA
White, crystalline, bitter, stable as solution, β alanine, peptide bond • Acetate group acceptor for AA and Vits
Pantothenic
No known deficiencies • Cholesterol, phospholipids, steroid & porphyrin
Acid
synthesis
Monocarboxylic acid, stable to heat, water-/alcohol-soluble
B7 / Biotin Deficiency – scaly dermatitis, nausea, vomiting, anorexia • Coenzyme for addition or removal of CO2 from active
At risk – total parental nutrition / TPN (IV) for years, raw egg white intake (avidin) antagonizes absorption compounds (FA synthesis, deamination)
• Enhances Fe absorption (reduces ferric to ferrous)
Antiscorbutic vitamin, white, water soluble, stable in dry form, easily oxidized in solution and heat, hexose derivative, classified as carbohydrate • Blocks degradation of ferritin to hemosiderin
(monosaccharide), synthesized from glucose and galactose
Ascorbic acid reversibly oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid irreversibly oxidized further into gulonic acid (in warm solutions, no antiscorbutic acid • Coenzyme / cofactor – praline hydroxylation
C / Ascorbic (collagen synthesis), Phe  Tyr, Folacin  THFA,
properties)
Acid
Deficiency – scurvy (< 0.2mg/dL, follicular hyperkeratosis, swollen gums, teeth loosening, mouth and eye dryness, ↓ wound healing, scar breakdown Trp  5-OH Trp, stress hormone formation
Prevention – 10 mg/day (anti-scurvy but no reserves), 70-75mg/day (4 weeks prevention), 100mg/day (for stressed people, smokers)
Toxicity – hemolytic anemia (pro-oxidant), sugar in urine false positive, kidney stones, atherosclerosis
• Infection resistance – interferon production,
inflammation, membrane integrity
• Less severe cold symptoms

Minerals
Notes Function
Minerals inorganic, remains as ash when food is burned dissolved ions, regulates enzyme activity, acid-base balance, membrane transport, nerve and
Deficiency – determine their levels in plasma, serum or hair muscle irritability, structural constituents, indirectly involved in growth
Macrominerals /
essential at 100mg/day
Major Minerals
Calcium Most abundant, 1.5-2% body weight, 39% of total minerals, 99% in bones & teeth, 1% in blood and ECF, • Membrane stabilizer, ion transmission, NT release, protein hormones, enzyme activation,
Skeletal Ca: Non-exchangeable pool (not available for short term regulation) and exchangeable pool (1% of skeletal nerve transmission, heartbeat regulation, clotting
Ca, in trabeculae, may be mobilized if needed)
Serum Ca (8.8-10.8mg/dL): 50% ionized (4.4-5.2mg/dL), 5% anion-bound, 5% protein bound, PTH = ↑, calcitonin = ↓
 Absorption: 20-35%; increase with acidity, VitD3, ↑ needs, lactose, moderate fat, taken with meals;
decrease with no VitD, oxalates, phytates
Excretion: increase with caffeine, theophyllines, dermal losses, immobility
• Bones and teeth, nucleic acids, phospholipids, energy cycle, high energy compounds,
Phosphorus 80% as CaPO4, 10% metabolically active. regulated by PTH at 3-4 mg/100 mL
coagulated proteins, acid-base buffer
2nd most abundant intracellular ion, 20-28g, 1.5-2.1mEq/L or 0.75-1.1 mmol/L, 50% free, 33% bound to albumin, • Muscle contractility
Magnesium
17% in bone (non-exchangeable) • Nerve excitability
Constituent of cysteine, cysteine, methionine,
Sulfur
Occurrence – insulin and keratin, GSH, heparin, chondroitin sulfate, in Vits (thiamine, biotin, pantothenic acid)

Na, Cl, K Total body mineral content 2%, 3% and 50% respectively, in ECF, ECF and ICF respectively • Water balance, osmotic equilibrium, acid-base balance, muscular balance, membrane
potential, volume regulation, transport, Na/K/ATPase pump
Trace Elements <100mg/day
Essential required for optimal performance of a specific function, action depends on dosage and nutritional state, ↑ amounts have a response that plateaus but eventually becomes toxic
Most abundant, 3-5g, 30-40% in storage form, 90% recovered and reused, must be supplemented
Absorption
• ↑ with VitC, VitA, MFP factor, gastric acidity, intrinsic factor, physiologic states, human milk • Oxygen transport (hemoglobin, myoglobin)
• ↓ with phytates, tannin, ↑ motility, ↑ Ca, ↑ Zn • Oxidative ATP production (Cytochromes transfer e- and energy via iron redox iron)
• CytP450 system (solubilization of water-insoluble compounds)
Iron • Heme iron as intact porphyrin, non-heme ionized to ferrous state
Transport – Mucosal transferrin (lumen to mucosal cell  + apoferritin = ferritin) and Serum transferrin (ferric iron • Immune System (buffs leukocytes, iron withholding as anti-infection, cognitive
from mucosal cell to tissues, 30% TIBC (↑ = less transfer, ↓ = more)) performance)
Storage – ferritin (readily mobilized), hemosiderin (not readily)
Excretion – bleeding, feces, sweat, exfoliation
Adult has 100-150mg, in liver, brain, kidney and heart • Enzyme component (CytC oxidase, SOD, tyrosinase, lysyl oxidase)
Copper Absorbed in mucosal cell associated with metallothionein, transported in plasma with albumin, taken up by liver • Iron oxidation prior to plasma transport, Collagen cross-linking, Mitochondrial energy
bound to ceruloplasmin, unabsorbed secreted in bile production, Anti-oxidant, melanin and catecholamines
Iodine 20-30mg, 75% in thyroid, 25% in lactating mammary + gastric mucosa + blood • Part of thyroid hormones

Fluoride 2.5mg, in skeleton, toxic at 0.1/kg/day = teeth molting • Tooth enamel (max resistance)
• Fluoroapatite (replaces OH in Ca phosphorous salts – less readily absorbed)
• CHO and fat metabolism
Chromium Exact amount not well established, function not well-defined • Insulin
• Glucose tolerance factor – biologically active chromium
Cobalt With B12 stores in liver, plasma has 1mg/100mL • B12 component
• GSH peroxidase – converts peroxides to water
Selenium GSH peroxidase (selenoenzyme)
• VitE synergism – anti-oxidant, O+H binding, ion transfer, Ig and ubiquinone synthesis
• Enzyme component – Glu synthetase, Pyr CX, mitochondrial SOD
Manganese Adult = 20mg, ↑ if plenty mitochondria, Bound to β-globulin transmanganin
• CT & bone formation, growth and reproduction, CHO and fat metab
Molybdenu • Enzyme cofactor – xanthine, aldehyde oxidase, sulfite oxidase
m • Redox enzymes has prosthetic group with Mb

Second most abundant, metallothionein most abundant non-enzymatic zinc-containing protein, zinc and child growth, • CHO, CHON, fat metab, CHON and nucleic acid stabilization, transport, immunity, gene
Zinc expression, metallothionein (Metal detox, sulfur AA metabolism), DNA / RNA stabilization,
Fe, Ca, Cu interferes with absorption
RNA polymerase activity, chromatin proteins, osteoblastic activity
Essentiality
silicon, vanadium, nickel, tin, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and boron
not Clear