| A vitamin is an organic molecule | | | | now recognize as the water-soluble |
| required by a living organism in minute | | | | organic micronutrients were initially |
| amounts for proper health. An organism | | | | referred to as just one entity, "vitamin |
| deprived of all sources of a particular | | | | B". |
| vitamin will eventually suffer from | | | | In humans, there are thirteen vitamins, |
| disease symptoms specific to that | | | | divided into two groups, the four |
| vitamin. | | | | fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and |
| Vitamins can be classified as either | | | | the nine water-soluble vitamins (eight B |
| water soluble, which means they dissolve | | | | vitamins and vitamin C). |
| easily in water, or fat soluble, which | | | | Some of the vitamins are known by other |
| means they are absorbed through the | | | | names in older literature. These names |
| intestinal tract with the help of | | | | are written after the vitamins in |
| lipids. | | | | brackets. Vitamin B2 is also referred to |
| In general, an organism must obtain | | | | as vitamin G. Vitamin B7, or biotin is |
| vitamins or their metabolic precursors | | | | also referred to as "vitamin H." Vitamin |
| from outside the body, most often from | | | | B9, or folic acid and other folates such |
| the organism's diet. Examples of | | | | as "vitamin M" (monkey antianemia |
| vitamins that the human body can derive | | | | factor, pteryl-tri-glutamic acid) are |
| from precursors include vitamin A, which | | | | referred to as folicin. Vitamin B3 is |
| can be produced from beta carotene; | | | | also referred to as "vitamin PP", a name |
| niacin from the amino acid tryptophan; | | | | derived from the obsolete term |
| and vitamin D through exposure of skin | | | | "pellagra-preventing factor". Many other |
| to ultraviolet light. | | | | essential dietary substances were |
| The term vitamin does not encompass | | | | originally called vitamins and are now |
| other essential nutrients such as | | | | classified differently. |
| dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, | | | | Other nutrients that are not classified |
| or essential amino acids, nor is it used | | | | as vitamins include carnitine (meat, |
| for the large number of other nutrients | | | | fish, dairy), DMAE (fish, eggs, soy, |
| that merely promote health, but are not | | | | brains), lipoic acid (liver), folinic |
| strictly essential. | | | | acid (liver), bioptrin (fish, liver), |
| The word vitamine was coined by the | | | | PPQ (below) and coenzyme Q (meat, |
| Polish biochemist Casimir Funk in 1912. | | | | yogurt, soy). |
| Vita in Latin is life and the -amine | | | | Vitamin deficiency and excess An |
| suffix is for amine; at the time it was | | | | organism can survive for some time |
| thought that all vitamins were amines. | | | | without vitamins, although prolonged |
| This is now known to be incorrect. | | | | vitamin deficit results in a disease |
| The value of eating certain foods to | | | | state, often painful and potentially |
| maintain health was recognized long | | | | deadly. Body stores for different |
| before vitamins were identified. The | | | | vitamins can vary widely; an adult may |
| ancient Egyptians knew that feeding a | | | | be deficient in vitamins A or B12 for a |
| patient liver would help cure night | | | | year or more before developing a |
| blindness, now known to be caused by a | | | | deficiency condition, while vitamin B1 |
| vitamin A deficiency. In 1747, the | | | | stores may only last a couple of weeks. |
| Scottish surgeon James Lind discovered | | | | Fat-soluble vitamins may be stored in |
| that citrus foods helped prevent scurvy, | | | | the body and can cause toxicity when |
| a particularly deadly disease in which | | | | taken in excess. Water-soluble vitamins |
| collagen is not properly formed, and | | | | are not stored in the body, with the |
| characterized by poor wound healing, | | | | exception of vitamin B12, which is |
| bleeding of the gums, and severe pain. | | | | stored in the liver. |
| In 1753, Lind published his Treatise on | | | | Pseudo-vitamins Vitamin F was the |
| the Scurvy. His recommendation of using | | | | designation originally given to |
| lemons and limes to avoid scurvy was | | | | essential fatty acids that the body |
| adopted by the British Royal Navy, | | | | cannot manufacture. They were |
| resulting in the nickname Limey for | | | | "de-vitaminized" because they are fatty |
| sailors of that organization. His | | | | acids. Fatty acids are a major component |
| discovery, however, was not widely | | | | of fats which, like water, are needed by |
| accepted by individuals; In the Royal | | | | the body in large quantities and thus do |
| Navy's Arctic expeditions in the 19th | | | | not fit the definition of vitamins which |
| century, for example, it was widely | | | | are needed only in trace amounts. |
| believed that scurvy was prevented by | | | | Herbalists and naturopaths have named |
| good hygiene on board ship, regular | | | | various therapedic chemicals "vitamins", |
| exercise, and maintaining the morale of | | | | even though they are not, including |
| the crew, rather than by a diet of fresh | | | | vitamin T, S-Methylmethionine (vitamin |
| food, so that Navy expeditions took all | | | | U) and vitamin X. |
| the amenities of 'sophisticated' | | | | Some authorities say that ubiquinone, |
| society, like silk sheets, spices, | | | | also called coenzyme Q10, is a vitamin. |
| expensive food and drink, and almost | | | | Ubiquinone is manufactured in small |
| nothing of any use beyond the Arctic | | | | amounts by the body, like vitamin D. |
| Circle. As a result, these expeditions | | | | Pangamic acid, vitamin B15; the related |
| continued to be plagued by scurvy and | | | | substance dimethylglycine is quite |
| other deficiency diseases. | | | | wrongly referred to as vitamin B15 but |
| At the time Robert Falcon Scott made his | | | | also labeled B16. |
| two expeditions to the Antarctic in the | | | | The toxins laetrile and amygdaline are |
| early 20th century, the prevailing | | | | sometimes referred to as vitamin B17. |
| medical theory was that scurvy was | | | | Both pangamic acid and laetrile were |
| caused by "tainted" canned food. | | | | first proposed as vitamins by Ernst T. |
| In 1881, Russian surgeon Nikolai Lunin | | | | Krebs; neither are recognized by the |
| fed mice upon an artificial mixture of | | | | medical community as vitamins and their |
| all the separate constituents of milk | | | | claimed anticancer activities have been |
| known at that time, namely the proteins, | | | | disproven by many experiments. |
| fats, carbohydrates, and salts. They | | | | Flavonoids are sometimes called vitamin |
| died, while the mice fed by milk itself | | | | P. |
| developed normally. He made a conclusion | | | | Animal, bird, and bacterial growth |
| that "a natural food such as milk must | | | | factors have been designated vitamins |
| therefore contain besides these known | | | | such as para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) |
| principal ingredients small quantities | | | | which is the chicken feathering factor |
| of unknown substances essential to life" | | | | vitamin B10, the folacin (see folic |
| [1] However, his conclusion was rejected | | | | acid) pteryl-heptaglutamic acid is the |
| by other researchers who were unable to | | | | chicken growth factor vitamin B11 or |
| reproduce his results. One difference | | | | vitamin Bc-conjugate and orotic acid as |
| was that he used table sugar (sucrose), | | | | vitamin B13 for rats. |
| while other researchers used milk sugar | | | | A few substances were once thought to be |
| (lactose) which still contained small | | | | B-complex vitamins and are referred to |
| amounts of vitamin B. | | | | as B-vitamins in older literature, |
| In 1905, William Fletcher discovered | | | | including B4 (adenine) and B8 (adenylic |
| that eating unpolished rice instead of | | | | acid), but are no longer recognized as |
| polished helped prevent the disease | | | | such. |
| beriberi. The following year, Frederick | | | | Colloquial usage of the term Vitamin A |
| Hopkins postulated that foods contained | | | | and vitamin C are sometimes used as |
| "accessory factors"—in addition to | | | | slang terms for alcoholic beverages and |
| proteins, carbohydrates, fats, | | | | caffeine, respectively. |
| etc.—that are necessary to the human | | | | The sedative ketamine is often called |
| body. When Casimir Funk isolated the | | | | vitamin K when used as a recreational |
| water-soluble complex of micronutrients | | | | drug. |
| whose bioactivity Fletcher had | | | | Vitamin Love is mentioned in the Patti |
| identified, he proposed that it be named | | | | Page song, "I Don't Care if the Sun |
| "Vitamine". The name soon became | | | | Don't Shine", referring to love itself. |
| synonymous with Hopkins' "accessory | | | | Vitamin V is a colloquialism for Viagra, |
| factors", and by the time it was shown | | | | vitamin Z for Zoloft, and vitamin R for |
| that not all vitamins were amines, the | | | | Ritalin (especially when implying that |
| word was already ubiquitous. In 1920, | | | | these drugs are overprescribed or, as a |
| Jack Cecil Drummond proposed that the | | | | hyperbole, being taken as commonly as |
| final "e" be dropped, to deemphasize the | | | | vitamins). |
| "amine" reference, after the discovery | | | | Colloquially, the word vitamin is often |
| that vitamin C had no amine component, | | | | used to refer to vitamin supplements, |
| and the name has been "vitamin" ever | | | | products, often in pill form, that |
| since. | | | | contain one or more purified vitamins |
| The reason the alphabet soup of vitamins | | | | which are used to supplement the vitamin |
| seems to skip from E to the | | | | content of a diet. |
| rarely-mentioned K is that most of the | | | | Vitamin G is used as slang for Guinness. |
| "letters" were reclassified, as with | | | | Vitamin J has been used to refer to |
| fatty acids, discarded as false leads, | | | | Jägermeister, which is an herbal liquor |
| or renamed because of their relationship | | | | exported from Germany. |
| to "vitamin B", which became a "complex" | | | | Vitamin I is sometimes used as a |
| of vitamins. Vitamin G, Riboflavin, for | | | | colloquialism for ibuprofen. |
| example, is now known as B2. | | | | Vitamin S is slang for |
| Throughout the early 1900s, scientists | | | | speed-amphetamines or steroids (and for |
| were able to isolate and identify a | | | | semen in japanese language). |
| number of vitamins by depriving animals | | | | Non-human vitamins Different organisms |
| of them. Initially, lipid from fish oil | | | | need different trace organic substances. |
| was used to cure rickets in rats, and | | | | Most mammals need, with few exceptions, |
| the fat-soluble nutrient was called | | | | the same vitamins as humans. One notable |
| "antirachitic A". The irony here is that | | | | exception is Vitamin C, which can be |
| the first "vitamin" bioactivity ever | | | | synthesized by all other mammals except |
| isolated, which cured rickets, was | | | | other higher primates and guinea pigs. |
| initially called vitamine A, this | | | | The less related a species is to |
| bioactivity is now called vitamin D, | | | | mammals, the more different the |
| which is subject to the semantic debate | | | | organisms' requirements become. For |
| that vitamin D is not truly a vitamin | | | | example, some bacteria need adenine. |
| because it is a steroid derivative. What | | | | Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) found in |
| we now call "vitamin A" was identified | | | | yogurt was reported as a vitamin for |
| in fish oil because it was inactivated | | | | mice in 2003. |
| by ultraviolet light. Most of what we | | | | |