🥦 vitamins & minerals

Vitamin A

Vitamin A

[fat-soluble]

• vision

• promotion of growth

• maintenance of epithelial tissues

• gene expression

• maintenance of reproduction

Hypovitaminosis A

• night blindness

• keratomalacia

• abnormal pregnancy

• retardation of growth

• wound healing

Hypervitaminosis A

• liver toxicity

• birth defects

Vitamin D

[fat-soluble] 25-hydroxyvitamin D (liver) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (kidneys)

• calcium uptake

Hypovitaminosis D

• rickets (children)

• osteomalacia (adults)

Hypervitaminosis D

• elevated calcium in blood and urine

• deposition of calcium in organs

Vitamin E

[fat-soluble]

• antioxidant

Hypovitaminosis E

• haemolytic anaemia

• neurological & neuromuscular dysfunctions

• retinopathy

Vitamin K

[fat-soluble]

• gamma-carboxylation of proteins

• blood clotting

Hypovitaminosis K

defective blood clotting

Vitamin B1

[water-soluble] Thiamine

• coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism

Vitamin B1 deficiency

• beriberi

• Wernicke-Korsakoff (alcoholics)

Vitamin B2

[water-soluble] Riboflavin

• electron transfer

Vitamin B2 deficiency

skin lesions

Vitamin B3

[water-soluble] Niacin

• electron transfer

Vitamin B3 deficiency

pellagra

Vitamin B5

[water-soluble] Pantothenic acid

• component of coenzyme A

Vitamin B6

[water-soluble] Pyridoxine

• coenzyme of various enzymes, particularly in amino acid metabolism

Vitamin B6 deficiency

• neurological symptoms

• anaemia

Vitamin B7

[water-soluble] Biotin

• coenzyme in synthesis of fat, glycogen and amino acids

Vitamin B7 deficiency

• depression

• dermatitis

• muscle pain

Vitamin B9

[water-soluble] Folic acid

• one-carbon metabolism

• coenzyme in nucleic acid and amino acid metabolism

Vitamin B9 deficiency

• megaloblastic anaemia

• neural tube defects

Vitamin B12

[water-soluble] Cobalamin

• coenzyme for homocysteine → methionine; methymalonyl CoA → succinyl CoA

Vitamin B12 deficiency

anaemia

Vitamin C

[water-soluble] Ascorbic acid

• maintains connective tissues

• iron absorption

• antioxidant

Hypovitaminosis C

scurvy

Sodium Chloride Potassium

[macroelements]

• maintain osmotic pressure

• maintain acid-base balance

• maintain nerve & muscle excitability

Calcium

[macroelement]

• component of bone

• contraction of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle propagation of nerve impulses

• blood clotting

• hormonal signalling

Magnesium

[macroelement]

• component of bone

• contraction of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle propagation of nerve impulses

• important cofactor for many enzymes (utilizing ATP)

Phosphate

[macroelement]

• component of bone

• component of DNA, RNA, ATP

• phosphorylation

Iron

[microelement]

• component of heme (to bind oxygen/redox reactions)

• non-heme form (iron-sulphur complexes) as components of complex I of mitochondrial electron transport chain

Zinc

[microelement]

• contained in ~100 enzymes associated with carbohydrate and energy metabolism

• protein synthesis and degradation

• nucleic acid synthesis

Copper

[microelement]

• scavenges superoxide and other reactive oxygen species

• associated with oxygenase enzymes like cytochrome c oxidase

Hyponatremia

Sodium deficiency

• cerebral edema

Hypernatremia

Sodium excess

• dehydration

Hypokalemia

Potassium deficiency

• arrhythmia

Hyperkalemia

Potassium excess

• arrhythmia

Hypochloremia

Chlorine deficiency

• acid-base disturbance

Hypocalcemia

Calcium deficiency

• osteoporosis

• arrhythmia

Hypercalcemia

Calcium excess

• kidney stones

Hyperphosphatemia

Phosphate excess

• calcification of soft tissues

Hypomagnesemia

Magnesium deficiency

• arrhythmia

Iron deficiency

Anaemia

Iron excess

Haemochromatosis