| Question | Answer |
| The Word "Vitamins" | -vita= "life"
-amine= "contains N"(only a few actually contain N) |
| Vitamin Functions | -required in small amounts
-different from carbs, fat, protein
-essential for metabolism
-*metabolic regulators*
-required for normal growth and maintenance |
| Vitamin Sources | -not normally synthesized by the body
-present in foods(effective in small amounts) |
| Fat Soluble Vitamins | -resembles lipids(the reason why they are fat soluble)
-Vitamin A, D, E, K
-occur in plants as a provitamin(converted in the animal body by enzymes)
-absorbed in small intestine with fat |
| Vitamin A | -Beta Carotene: main source(precursor) of Vitamin A
-fresh forage>grains(leafy has more)
-extensive storage in liver
-involved in eye function, epithilial tissue |
| Vitamin D | -exposure to sunlight(in skin 7-dehydroxycholoesterol converts to vit D)
-high in sun-cured forages
-confinement may require vit D supplementation
-some storage in liver
-involved in regulating Ca & P metabolism |
| Vitamin E | -Tocopherol(precursor) main source
-extensive storage in body
-serves as antioxidant(cellular health) and salidium: maintain health of cells(converts free radicals into water) |
| Vitamin K | -produced by microbes in the gastrointestinal tract
-deficiency not likely in most species
-involved in blood clotting
-moldy feed/forage=deficiency(releases a compound that inhibits vit K) |
| Water Soluble Vitamins | -Vitamin B and C
-absorbed in upper small intestine(except B12)
-not as much stored as fat soluble vitamins
-involved in transfer of energy(enzymatic activity-most are used this way), cofactors for enzymes |
| B Vitamins | -B1:Thiamine
-B2:Riboflavin
-B3:Niacin
-B5:Pantothenic Acid
-B6:Pyridoxin
-B7:Biotin
-B9:Folic Acid
-B12:Cobalamin
-B4, B8, B10, B11: no longer considered B Vitamins |
| Vitamin C | -maintains health
-animals do not have a required amount, they produce enought themselves(humans, monkeys, & guinea pigs need to be supplemented) |
| Microbial Production | -normally produced in Rumen
-Vitamin K
-B Vitamins |
| Vitamin Summary | -organic nutrient(contains C)
-not a functional source of energy
-fat and water soluble
-general function: metabolic regulators
-microbes are a good source of B vitamins and vitamin K |
| Nutrient Review | -Nutrient: a chemical compound having specific functions in the nutritive support of life; a nutritious ingredient or substance in food
-water
-carbohydrates
-fats(lipids)
-protein(amino acids)
-minerals
-vitamins |
