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Vitamin

A vitamin (vita in Latin is life and the -amin suffix is short for amine) is
an organic compound that cannot be synthesized (at all or in quantities that
meet all needs) by a given organism and must be taken (in trace quantities)
with food for that organism's continued good health. The name was invented
by the Polish biochemist Kazimierz Funk in 1912. (Minerals are inorganic
trace nutritional requirements.)

Vitamins were first recognised by the diseases that occur from a lack of
certain foods; for example, the British Royal Navy recognised that a
constituent of limes prevented scurvy (one result of not having enough
vitamin C over an extended period of time), so limes were added to the diet
of sailors. Vitamin D prevents rickets, and so forth.

Vitamins can be divided in two groups by their solubility in water:

   * PQQ vitamin?

Water-soluble vitamins

   * Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
   * Thiamin (vitamin B1)
   * Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
   * Niacin (vitamin B3) (also called nicotinic acid or vitamin P -- for
     pellagra preventing)
   * Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
   * Pyridoxine (vitamin B6)
   * Cobalamin vitamin B12
   * Biotin (vitamin H)
   * Folic acid (vitamin M)

Fat-soluble vitamins

   * Retinol and derivatives) (vitamin A)
   * Calciferol- see below (vitamin D)
   * Tocopherol (vitamin E)
   * Naphthoquinone (and derivatives) (vitamin K)

Fat-soluble vitamins may be stored in the body and can cause toxicity when
taken in excess; water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body. Unlike
food, water, and--for aerobic organisms--air, an organism can survive for
some time without vitamins, although prolonged vitamin deficit results in a
disease state.

Vitamin deficiency diseases

Several diseases are caused by a lack of adequate vitamin intake. These can
become severe, even life-threatening.

Some vitamin deficiency diseases include:

 deficient vitamin      disease
 A                 night blindness
 B1                beriberi
 B2                ariboflavinosis
 B12               pernicious anaemia
 niacin            pellagra
 C                 scurvy
 D                 rickets

Other vitamin deficiencies are simply called after the name of the vitamin,
like vitamin K deficiency disease.

Is vitamin D a real vitamin?

Vitamin D is synthetized by human body, but in quantities that are not
always sufficient. The level of synthesis depends on exposure to sunlight,
so in winter and in polar areas it acts more like a vitamin, and in summer
and in equatorial areas it acts less like a vitamin. So it's usually treated
as a vitamin, but one that isn't required in some areas and seasons.

Vitamins A and K

Neither vitamin A nor vitamin K is a single chemical substance, but all
derivatives fulfill the same functions in organisms (or are converted into
the active form by the organism), so taking just one of the derivatives is
sufficient for good health. The derivatives differ in chemical structure and
level of activity.

Names

Some obsolete vitamin names:

   * Vitamin B - actually a complex of several vitamins: B-number, H, and M.
   * Vitamin G - another name for riboflavin (vitamin B2)

The usage of names in the format "vitamin letter" and "vitamin letter
number" is diminishing. This is especially true for vitamins H, M, B1, B2,
B3, and B5, which are usually called by their proper chemical names.

On the other hand, vitamins D and E are still usually called by their
symbolic names, and A and K don't even have proper chemical names (since
they are mixtures of chemicals).

The names ascorbic acid and vitamin C are used with similar frequency.

Whatever Happened to Vitamin F?

Vitamin F was the designation originally given to essential fatty acids that
the body cannot manufacture. They were "de-vitaminized" because they are
fatty acids, or fats. (Fats include fatty acids).

Non-human vitamins

Different organisms need different trace organic substances. The list of
vitamins in this article refers to humans. Most mammals need, with few
exceptions, the same vitamins (except that most species don't need ascorbic
acid). The further we go from mammals, the more diverse organisms'
requirements become. For example, some bacteria need adenine.

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