Vitamins

What are vitamin.

Vitamins are essential nutrients which enable your body to work properly and to stay healthy.

Most vitamins can be found in the food that we eat or from vitamin supplements.

Role of vitamins

The nutrients that you get from vitamins helps your body to carry out essential functions such as:

1.   Production of skin, bone and muscle

2.   Strengthening of the immune system

3.   Maintenance and repair of cells, tissues and organs

4.   Converting food into energy

There are a wide range of vitamins with most of them having multiple functions. Some of the most commonly known types are: Vitamin B9, B12, C, D and

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamin are stored in the fatty tissue of the body and the liver. Vitamin A,D,E and K are fat soluble Vitamine. these are the easier to the stored than water soluble vitamin. And they can stay in the body as reserves for days, and sometime months. 

Vitamin-A

Vitamin A is a group of unsaturated nutritional organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably beta-carotene). Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is important for growth and development, for the maintenance of the immune system, and for good vision.

 

Chemical name : retinol

Daily Requirement : Adult - 600 to 700 ug

                                 Infant – 350 to 400 mcg                                                           

Good sources of vitamin : green and yellow vegetable ,milk, butter, cheese egg yolk, liver oils.                 

·      Function : essential for normal vision .                                                                                   

·      Maintain healthy epithelialand glandular.                                          

·      Anti-infective role.                                                                       

Deficiency : may  cause night – blindness and   Keratomalacia , an eye disorder that results in a dry cornea.

 Vitamin : D

 

           Chemical name :  Calciferol                                                  

Daily Requirement : 

·       Adult- 100 i.u

·       Infant- 200 i.u

·       Children- 200 i.u

·       Pregnancy- 400 i.u

·       Lactation- 400 i.u

Sources :

·       Most important sources of sunlight.

·       Liver, egg yolk butter and cheese.

Functions:

·       Promotes intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorous.

·       Maintenance of healthy bones and teeth.

Deficiency :

·       In children rickets.

·       In adult osteomalacia.

What IS Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a vitamin that dissolves in fat. It is found in many foods including vegetable oils, cereals, meat, poultry, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and wheat germ oil. It is also available as a supplemen.

                                                                         

Chemical name : Tocopherols

Sources:  egg, yolk, butter, green vegetable and nuts.

Function :

·       antioxidants

·       Promotes immune function

Deficiency :

·       Anemia

·       Visual disturbance

 

Vitamin k  : vitamin k refers to a fat soluble                                                                    

Vitamin that play a role in blood clotting , bone. Metabolism and regulating blood calcium levels. The body needs vitamin k to produce prothrombin , a protein and clotting factor that is important in blood clotting and bone metabolism.

Chemical name : Phylloquinone

Daily requirement : 0.03 mg/kg body weight for adults.

Sources: cow’s milk, fish, leafy vegetables and fruit and liver .

Function : helpful in blood clotting.

Deficiency :

·      Slow blood clotting

·      Hemorrhage in new born.

                      

Structure

At least two naturally-occuring forms of vitamin K have been identified, and these are designated vitamins K₁ and K₂. Both are quinone derivatives. The structure of vitamin K₁ is depicted below.

 

Water-soluble vitamins are:

• Vitamin C
• the B Vitamins
• Thiamin (Vitamin B1)
• Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
• Niacin (Vitamin B3)
• Pantothenic Acid 
• Vitamin B6
• Folic Acid
• Vitamin B12

What are B vitamin :  vitamin are important for making sure the body ‘s cells are functioning properly. They help the body convert food into energy (metabloism) create new blood cells, and maintain helthy skin cells ,brain cell, and other body tissue.

There are the eight type of vitamin B .

·       Thiamin (vitamin  B-1)

·       Riboflavin (vitamin B-2)

·       Niacin (vitamin B-3)

·       Pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5)

·       Vitamin B6

·       Biotin (vitamin B-7)

·       Folate (vitamin B-9)

·       Viyamin B-12

Vitamin B-1 : the hearts, liver, kidney, and brain all contain high amounts of thiamin.the body needs thiamin for :

·       Breaking down sugar (carbohydrate) molecules froms food.

·       Creating certain neurotransmitters (brain chemial).

·       Producing fatting acids.

·       Synthesizing certain hormones.

Deficiency :
Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B₁). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. There are two main types in adults: wet beriberi, and dry beriberi. Wernicke  encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are forms of dry beriberi.

Symptoms: : Wet: Fast heart rate, shortness of ...

Other names: Beriberi, vitamin B1 deficiency, t...

Types: Wet, dry, gastrointestinal

Causes: Not enough thiamine

 

Sources of Thiamine

Meats, especially pork and liver are rich in thiamine and account for about one fourth of the average intake. Rice, Dry beans, peanuts and egg are good sources. Enriched and whole grain breads and cereals supply about one third of the daily thiamine intake.

 

Requirements of Thiamine

The requirement of thiamine depends on energy expenditure as it is needed to make ATP.

 

Vitamin B-2 : vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin, so it dissolves in water. All vitamins are either water soluble or fat soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are carried through the bloodstream, and whatever is not needed passes out of the body in urine.

Sources of riboflavin

About half of the intake of riboflavin daily is furnished by milk alone and cheese is a good source. Other sources include mushrooms, Almonds, Leafy vegetables, Lean meat and eggs.

  

Requirement of riboflavin

 

The requirement of riboflavin depends on normalization activity of the red cell enzyme (glutathione reductase) which is a flavoprotein. Its activity is sensitive to riboflavin nutritional status. The following is the requirement of riboflavin,

 

Vitamin B-3 : vitamin B-3 also know as niacin, plays a key role in skin, digestive, and mental health and supports the function of more than 200 enzymes in the body.

Vitamin b-3 combination of two chemical :nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. The body break these chemical down to produce two additional chemical: NAD and NADP.

Good Sources:

Good sources of vitamin B3 (niacin) include yeast, meat, poultry, red fish (e.g., tuna, salmon), cereals, legumes, and seeds. Milk, green leafy vegetables, coffee, and tea also provide some niacin .

 

Pantothenic acid : pantothenic acid also called vitamin B5 is a water-soluble vitamin. Pantothenic acid is an essential nutrients. Animals require pantothenic acid in order to synthesize-A (coA) as wellas to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The anion is called pantothenate.

What is vitamin B5?

Vitamin B5, also called pantothenic acid, is one of the most important vitamins for human life. It’s necessary for making blood cells, and it helps you convert the food you eat into energy.

Vitamin B5 is one of eight B vitamins. All B vitamins help you convert the protein, carbohydrates, and fats you eat into energy. B vitamins are also needed for:

• healthy skin, hair, and eyes
• proper functioning of the nervous system and liver
• healthy digestive tract
• making red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body
• making sex and stress-related hormones in the adrenal glands.

Food Sources Of Vitamin B5

Sources include:

·       Meat: pork, chicken, turkey duck, beef, and specially animal organs such as liver and kidney.

·       Fish: salmon, lobster, and shellfish.

·       Daily products: egg yolk, milk, yogurt, and milk products.

·       Legumes: lentils, split peas, and soybeans.

·       Vegetables: mushrooms, avocado, broccoli, sweet potatoes, corn, cauliflower, kale, and tomatoes.

CELL

                                                                 

            

The cell is basic functional and structure unit of life. All the living organisms are composed of cell. All cell are division of the existing cells which in term of biology means reproduction. Every cell of our body comprises of genetic material which is passed down during the process.

Introduction of cell

The introduction to cell began back in the year 1655 when a revolutionary observation was made by an English scientist Robert Hooke. This observation made by him was so huge that it went on to change the basic biological theory and research forever. So, how was the cell discovered?

Robert Hooke was examining a dried section of the cork tree using a crude light microscope. In this analysis, he observed multiple small chambers which he named the cells. Thereafter, over the next 175 years, several kinds of research were made which led to the formation of the cell theory that we know today.

The first such theory was proposed by the German botanist Matthias Jacob Schleiden and the German physiologist Theodore Schwann in 1838. This theory was formalized in the year 1858 by the German researcher Rudolf Virchow.

Cell Theory

·         The cell is the basic functional and structural unit of life. All the living organisms are composed of cells.

·         All cells are formed by the division of the already existing cells which in terms of biology means reproduction. Every cell of our body comprises of genetic material which is passed down during the process.

·         All the basic physiological and chemical functions i.e. the growth, repair, movement, communication immunity and digestions are performed inside the cells.

·         All the activities of the cell depend mainly on the activities of the subcellular structures that lie within the cell. These subcellular structures comprise of the plasma membrane, organelles and if present, the nucleus.

·         Anton von Leeuwenhoek first saw and described a live cell.

·         Robert brown later discovered the nucleus.  

NOTE  POINT

The cell was first discovered and named by Robert Hooke in 1665. He remarked that it looked strangely similar to cellula or small rooms which monks inhabited, thus deriving the name. However what Hooke actually saw was the dead cell walls of plant cells (cork) as it appeared under the microscope.

Prokaryotic cell

 What is a Prokaryotic Cell?

Prokaryotic cells are single-celled microorganisms known to be the earliest on earth. Prokaryotes include Bacteria and Archaea. The photosynthetic prokaryotes include cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that perform photosynthesis.

A prokaryotic cell consists of a single membrane and therefore, all the reactions occur within the cytoplasm. They can be free-living or can be found within the gut of other organisms.

·        Organism in which the nuclear material is not bounded by a definite

nuclear membrane are called prokaryotic cell.

·        It includes all the bacteria and blue green algae.

·        Placed in kingdom - monera

A  prokaryotic cell does not have a nuclear membrane. However the genetic material is present in a region in the cytoplasm known as the nucleoid. They may be spherical rod-shaped or spiral a prokaryotic cell structure is as follows.

1.    Capsule– It is an outer protective covering found in the bacterial cells, in addition to the cell wall. It helps in moisture retention, protects the cell when engulfed, and helps in the attachment of cells to nutrients and surfaces.

2.    Cell Wall– It is the outermost layer of the cell which gives shape to the cell.

3.    Cytoplasm– The cytoplasm is mainly composed of enzymes, salts, cell organelles and is a gel-like component.

4.    Cell Membrane– This layer surrounds the cytoplasm and regulates the entry and exit of substances in the cells.

5.    Pili– These are hair-like outgrowths that attach to the surface of other bacterial cells.

6.    Flagella– These are long structures in the form of a whip, that help in the locomotion of a cell.

7.    Ribosomes– These are involved in protein synthesis.

8.    Plasmids– Plasmids are non-chromosomal DNA structures. These are not involved in reproduction.

9.    Nucleoid Region– It is the region in the cytoplasm where the genetic material is present.

A prokaryotic cell lacks certain organelles like mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi bodies.

Prokaryotic Cell Diagram

The prokaryotic cell diagram given below represents a bacterial cell. It depicts the absence of a true nucleus and the presence of a flagellum that differentiates it from a eukaryotic cell.

EUKARYOTIC  CELL

·       Eukaryote any cell or organism that possesses a clearly defined nucleus. The eukaryotic cell has a nuclear membrane that surrounds the nucleus in which the well-defined chromosomes (bodies containg the hereditary material) are located. Eukaryotic cell also contain organelles including mitochondria (cellular energy exchangers) a golgi apparatus (secretory device) an endoplasmic reticulum.(a canal-like system of membrane within the cell) and lysosomes(digestive apparatus within many cell type). There are several exception to this however foe example the absence of mitochondrice and a nucleus in red blood cell and the lack of mitochondria in the oxymonad monocercomonoides species.                                                                                               

·        It Includes kingdom- protists, plants, animals and fungi.