Q20_Disorders of vitamin metabolism (vit. A, B – complex, C, D, E, K, biotin, pantohenic acid).

What happens if there is a long-lasting insufficiency intake of vitamins?

It leads to avitaminosis characterized by low performance and reproductive disorders.

How are the vitamin needs of swine met?

From feed or synthesis in the body.

What affects the vitamin content of feed?

The method of harvesting, processing, and storing.

How should vitamins be stored?

In a dry, cool place.

How long can vitamins be stored if combined with minerals?

No more than 60 days.

How long can vitamins be stored if kept separately from minerals?

Up to 6 months.

What are the two roles of Vitamin A in the body?

• In the eye (forming rhodopsin)

• in the general system: protecting epithelial tissues and mucosal membranes

What is the source of Vitamin A in plant products?

Plant pigment carotene, which can be converted to vitamin A in the intestinal wall.

What is the only cereal grain containing significant carotene?

Yellow corn.

What destroys carotene and vitamin A?

Storage and exposure to air, light, and temperatures.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin A deficiency?

• Weakness,

• ataxia,

• blindness,

• dog sitting,

• paralysis,

• malformed, blind and eyeless piglets,

• squamous metaplasia of epithelial tissues.

How is Vitamin A deficiency diagnosed?

By measuring vitamin A levels in liver, serum, and diet.

What are the two most important forms of Vitamin D?

Ergocalciferol (D2) and cholecalciferol (D3).

What is the function of Vitamin D?

Regulating bone formation and absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine.

What is the most active form of Vitamin D?

1,25-dihydroxycholcaliferol.

What are the sources of Vitamin D?

• Certain tissues,

• fishes like halibut and cod liver,

• egg yolk,

• cow milk,

• and colostrum.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin D deficiency?

Rickets, osteomalacia, poor growth, leg weakness, lameness, enlargement of joints, poor growth

How is Vitamin D deficiency diagnosed?

Clinical signs and vitamin D levels.

What are the two metabolic roles of Vitamin E?

As a nonspecific antioxidant and protecting phospholipids against peroxidative damage.

What are the sources of Vitamin E?

Green fodders, young grass, leaves, cured hay, alfalfa meal, whole grains, and germ parts of grain.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin E deficiency?

Mulberry heart disease, Hepatosis dietetica, White muscle disease, sudden death, nutritional degenerative myopathies.

What are the two most important naturally occurring Vitamin K compounds?

Vitamin K1 (phyloquinine) and Vitamin K2 (menaquinone).

What is the function of Vitamin K?

Necessary for the synthesis of prothrombin in the liver, enabling blood clotting.

What are the sources of Vitamin K?

• Green leafy material,

• foods of animal origin (egg yolk, liver, fish meal),

• and synthesized by bacteria in the digestive tract.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin K deficiency?

Anaemia, weakness, hypovolaemic shock, haemorrhagic diathesis, haemorrhage.

P: Prothrombin (inactive) → activation = thrombin (enzyme) → it transforms fibrinogen in blood plasma into fibrin → blood clotting

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin K toxicity?

Jaundice, haemolytic anemia.

What is the importance of Vitamin C?

Important in oxidation-reduction mechanisms, collagen metabolism, osteoblast formation, matrix mineralisation, bone resorption, and iron transport.

What are the sources of Vitamin C?

Citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin C deficiency?

Bone resorption in pigs, weakness, fatigue, dyspnoea, bone pain, haemorrhages, lowered fertility.

What is the role of Thiamine (Vitamin B1)?

A coenzyme involved in energy and protein metabolism.

What are the sources of Vitamin B1?

Widely distributed in foods, especially in brewer’s yeast.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin B1 deficiency?

• Poor growth, poor appetite, poor weight gain,

• vomiting,

• hypothermia,

• sudden death.

• Subclinical: enlarged flabby heart, abnormal ECG, elevated blood pyruvate

What is the role of Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)?

Important in chemical reactions involving the transport of hydrogen, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism.

What are the sources of Vitamin B2?

Green plants, yeast, fungi, most bacteria, but poorly found in cereal grains.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin B2 deficiency?

• Poor appetite, retarded growth,

• vomiting,

• skin eruptions,

• eye abnormalities,

• reproductive failure: born dead, weak piglets, anoestrus

• Subclinical: lens cataract, neutrophilia

What is the function of Nicotinamide (Vitamin B3)?

It functions as the active group of two important coenzymes, NAD and NADP.

• NAD = Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide → catabolic reactions (breakdown molecules to release energy)

• NADP = Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate → anabolic reactions (building up molecules)

How is Vitamin B3 synthesized in the body?

From tryptophan in the body tissues (essential AA)

Why is an exogenous source of Vitamin B3 necessary?

Because the conversion from tryptophan is poor.

What are the sources of Vitamin B3?

Present in cereal grains, but much of it is not readily available to pigs.

What can be added if Vitamin B3 deficiencies are suspected?

Niacin at 15 mg/kg.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin B3 deficiency?

Poor growth, necrotic enteritis, bone disorders, dermatitis (dry yellow skin), alopecia, posterior paralysis.

Subclinical = normocytic anemia

What is the role of Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)?

It is a constituent of CoA, an important coenzyme of acyl transfer.

What are the sources of Vitamin B5?

Widely distributed, with rich sources including liver, yeast, and cereal grains.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin B5 deficiency?

Goose stepping, ataxia, bloody diarrhoea, anorexia, posterior paralysis, small, weak piglets.

What is the role of Vitamin B6?

It is a coenzyme in reactions where the cell transforms nutrient amino acids into mixtures of amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds.

What are the sources of Vitamin B6?

Widely distributed in yeast, liver, milk, pulses (red bean seeds), and cereal grains.

What are the deficiency symptoms of Vitamin B6?

Biochemical lesions primarily concerned with amino acid metabolism, convulsion, spasms, ataxia, coma, deaths, reduced appetite, and anaemia.

What is the function of Biotin (Vitamin B7)?

It functions as a prosthetic group of several enzymes that catalyse the transfer of CO2 from one substrate to another.

What is the availability of Biotin in barley, wheat, and some animal protein feeds?

Very low.

What are the deficiency symptoms of Biotin?

• Poor skin,

• haemorrhagic and dark transverse cracks on hooves,

• lameness, laminitis,

• diarrhoea,

• dermatitis,

• excessive hair loss,

• extended weaning to mating intervals.

What is the differential diagnosis for Biotin deficiency?

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Where is Folic acid (Vitamin B9) found?

In green leafy plants and swine faeces.

How is Vitamin B9 synthesized?

By bacteria in the lower gut.

Why should Vitamin B9 supplements be added?

Confinement practices of raising pigs have decreased the sources.

What are the clinical signs of Vitamin B9 deficiency?

Decreased litter size, anaemia, poor weight gain, loss of hair colour.

How is Choline synthesized?

From methionine.

What are the sources of Choline?

Found in meat and bone meal, soybean meal (SBM), fish meal, grains.

What are the clinical signs of Choline deficiency?

Decreased litter sizes, high mortality in piglets, splay leg.

What are the coenzymic forms of Cobalamin (Vitamin B12)?

They function in several important enzymatic systems.

What is required for growth, hemoglobin (Hb), and red blood cell (RBC) formation?

Cobalamin (Vitamin B12).

How is Cobalamin synthesized?

Exclusively by microbes.

What are the natural sources of Cobalamin?

Foods of animal origin, especially liver.

When is Cobalamin supplementation needed?

When rations are formulated based primarily on corn and soybean-oil meal.

What are the deficiency symptoms of Cobalamin in young animals?

Retarded growth and high mortality.

What are other signs of Cobalamin deficiency?

Hyper-irritability, voice failure, pain, incoordination in hindquarters, fatty liver.

March 24: what are the names of all vitamins B and what are the few specifics?

• Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, …

• B7 (biotin) → cracked hooves