🥦 vitamins & minerals

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