12 A Vitamins - Water Soluble Ed F17-2
12 A Vitamins - Water Soluble Ed F17-2
12 A Vitamins - Water Soluble Ed F17-2
Vitamins
NUTR 295
Alicja Terzian, Ph.D.
George Mason University
Agenda
• Definition and Classification of Vitamins
• Overview of water soluble vitamins
• Individual water soluble vitamins
(B vitamins & C)
– Functions
– Sources
– Requirements
– Deficiency
– Toxicity
Definition and Classification of Vitamins
• Vitamin
Essential, noncaloric, organic nutrient needed in
tiny amounts in the diet
• Classes
– Fat-soluble
– Water-soluble
Requirements (RDA)
Adult males: 90 mg/day
Adult females: 75 mg/day
• In general, eat a
balanced diet!!
Interdependence of B Vitamins
• The presence of one B vitamin may affect
the absorption, metabolism and excretion
of another.
Destruction of vitamin
• UV light
• Irradiation
Toxicity:
large doses of niacin cause liver injury,
digestive upset, impaired glucose tolerance.
• Birth defects
– Neural tube defects (NTD)
symptoms: range from
slight problems in the spine to
mental retardation, severely
diminished brain size, and death
shortly after birth
– NTD arise in the first days or
weeks of pregnancy
Deficiency of folate
• Neural tube defects (Spina Bifida)
• Folate supplements taken one month before
conception and continued through first trimester
can help prevent neural tube defects.
• Fortification
– Began 1990’s
– NTD’s have
dropped 25%
Incidence of Spina Bifida Before and
After Folate Fortification
Folate
• Toxicity
– UL: 1,000 micrograms a day for adults; increased
risk of cancer
– High intakes can mask the blood symptom of a
vitamin B12 deficiency
• Recommendations
- healthy adults, all women of child-bearing age
0.4 milligrams per day
Folate
Food sources of folate
- Leafy green vegetables such as spinach and turnip,
greens provide abundant folate, eggs
Destruction of folate:
the heat of cooking and the oxidation that occurs
during storage
Amount
of
Serving Folate/Ser
Source Size ving DV %
Spinach 1 cup 263 mcg 65%
• Role:
- helps to maintain and protect the sheaths around
nerve fibers
- necessary for folate metabolism
- necessary for maturation of erythrocytes
Vitamin B12 absorption
Intrinsic factor
Vitamin B12 requires stomach
acid (HCl) and intrinsic factor
to be absorbed.
B12 - Deficiency
• Food sources
– Absolutely no plant source!!!
– It is synthesized by microorganisms
– Occurs only in animal products: eggs, meat,
poultry, milk, shellfish
– Fortified cereals
– Supplements
(Folate supplements can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency)
Vitamin B12 - Storage
• B12 is the one water soluble vitamin that is
stored in liver! (4 – 5 mg)
• Deficiency can take up to 20 years of a B12
due to deficient diet OR deficient intrinsic
factor: B12 can not be absorbed
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B6 - pyridoxine
• Roles
– Participates in over 100 reactions (particularly
amino acids)
– Additional roles
• Deficiency
– General symptoms: weakness,
depression, confusion, irritability,
insomnia.
Other symptoms include anemia, the greasy
dermatitis, weak immune response.
Vitamin B6 - pyridoxine
• Toxicity: more than 2 grams/day for a few months: numb feet,
lost sensation in hands, unable to walk or work
• Intake recommendations: 1.3 mg/day
• Food sources: meats, fish, and poultry (protein-
rich foods); potatoes; leafy green vegetables;
and some fruits