vitamin

(noun)

Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function; found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically; deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.

Related Terms

Examples of vitamin in the following topics:

  • Vitamins and Amino Acids

    • Microorganisms and plants can synthesize many uncommon amino acids and vitamins.
    • This group of vitamins includes two natural vitamers: vitamin K1 and vitamin K2.
    • No known toxicity exists for vitamins K1 or K2.
    • Three synthetic types of vitamin K are known: vitamins K3, K4, and K5.
    • This is vitamin K1 (phylloquinone).

  • Cofactors and Energy Transitions

    • Organic cofactors are often vitamins or are made from vitamins.
    • Vitamins can serve as precursors to many organic cofactors (e.g., vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, folic acid) or as coenzymes themselves (e.g., vitamin C).
    • However, vitamins do have other functions in the body.

  • Wine, Beer, and Alcohol

    • Brewer's yeasts are very rich in essential minerals and B vitamins, with the exception of vitamin B12.

  • Edible Algae

    • Algae are also rich in many vitamins, such as A, C, B1, B2, B3 and B6, as well as minerals, such as iodine, calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron.

  • Fermented Foods

    • Biological enrichment of food substrates with protein, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, and vitamins.

  • Gram-Negative Outer Membrane

    • It is in fact an integral compartment of the gram-negative cell wall and contains binding proteins for amino acids, sugars, vitamins, iron, and enzymes essential for bacterial nutrition.

  • Natural Passive Immunity

    • In addition to the IgA and IgG, human milk also contains: oligosaccharides and mucins that adhere to bacteria and viruses to interfere with their attachment to host cells; lactoferrin to bind iron and make it unavailable to most bacteria; B12 binding protein to deprive bacteria of needed vitamin B12; bifidus factor that promotes the growth of Lactobacillus bifidus, normal flora in the gastrointestinal tract of infants that crowds out harmful bacteria; fibronectin that increases the antimicrobial activity of macrophages and helps repair tissue damage from infection in the gastrointestinal tract; gamma-interferon, a cytokine that enhances the activity of certain immune cells; hormones and growth factors that stimulate the baby's gastrointestinal tract to mature faster and be less susceptible to infection; and lysozyme to break down peptidoglycan in bacterial cell walls.

  • Biosynthesis and Energy

    • Biosynthesis is often referred to as the anabolism branch of metabolism that results in complex proteins such as vitamins.

  • Ecological Associations Among Microorganisms

    • Synthesis vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin K, and biotin convert sugars to lactic acid (see Lactobacillus), as well as fermenting complex undigestible carbohydrates.

  • Normal Gastrointestinal Microbiota

    • Though people can survive without gut flora, the microorganisms perform a host of useful functions, such as: fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system, preventing growth of harmful, pathogenic bacteria, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host (such as biotin and vitamin K), and producing hormones to direct the host to store fats.