Comprehensive overview of vitamins and minerals, diseases associated with their deficiency and clinical tested used for their evaluation.

1. Vitamins & Minerals
Presented by Ahmed Madni
Ph.D. Student
NIBGE-College (PIEAS)

2. Metabolism
“The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in
order to maintain life”
Enzyme
“Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts (biocatalysts)”
Cofactor
“A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that
is required for an enzyme's activity as a catalyst”
Prosthetic group
“Prosthetic groups can act as scaffolding or a tie to help
proteins fold in to a 3-D structure (their conformation)”
Basic
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3. Vitamins
• Micronutrients essential for metabolism (for cell growth, proliferation and
differentiation)
• They form prosthetic groups of enzymes, or serve as their cofactors
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4. Diseases
due
to
deficiency
in
Vitamins
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5. Vitamin A
• Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in tissues
• Vitamin A’ is a generic term for retinol,
retinal, retinoic acid (animals), and β-
carotene (plants)
• Retinal and retinoic acid are the active
forms of vitamin A
Sources
• Liver
• fish oil
• egg yolk
• butter
• milk
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6. Vitamin A (deficiency and excess)
Excess
• Toxic
• Increased
intracranial
pressure
• Headache
• Double vision
• Dizziness
• Bone and joint
pains
6 Test: Spectrophotometric, HPLC, FTIR and Immunoassay
Deficiency
• Defective night vision
or night blindness
11-cis-retinal all-trans-retinol
Brain perceive the light

7. Clinical Tests for Determination of Vitamins
Spectrophotometry
High Performance Liquid Chromatography
Immunoassay
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8. • Only vitamin that is not usually required in the diet
Vitamin D (calciol)
Sources (outside
Human): Fish oil,
beef, egg yolks
Deficiency of vitamin D:
Produces rickets in children,
and osteomalacia (softening
of the bones) in adults
Vitamin D excess: Causes
• Enhanced calcium absorption,
bone reabsorption
• Tendency to develop kidney
stones (hypercalciuria, and
hypercalcemia)
Rickets
8 Test: Spectrophotometric, HPLC, FTIR and Immunoassay
Ergosterol
7-dehydrocholesterol
Vitamin D
(290–310 nm)

9. • Chemically, tocopherols molecule (90% founds as α-tocopherol in human
tissues)
• Immune function, and also in cellular signaling and gene expression
• Based on its lipid solubility, it is associated with all lipid-containing structures:
membranes, and lipoproteins
• It protects lipids from oxidation
Vitamin E
Source: Vegetable oils,
nuts and also green leafy
vegetables
Deficiency
• Fat malabsorption
• Hemolytic anemia
• Thrombocytosis
• Peripheral neuropathy
A little evidence in
support of vitamin E
toxicity
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Test: Spectrophotometric, HPLC, and FTIR

10. • A group of compounds have isoprenoid units in their side chain
• Necessary for blood clotting
Vitamin K
Sources: green leafy
vegetables, fruits, dairy
products, vegetable
oils, cereals, and
intestinal microflora
Post-translational
modification of
coagulation factors
(factors II, VII, IX,
and X
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Test: Spectrophotometric, HPLC, FTIR, and Immunoassay

11. • Vitamin K deficiency causes bleeding disorders and thrombosis (excess)
• Warfarin (inhibitors of vitamin K action) are valuable antithrombotic drugs
Vitamin K (deficiency)
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12. • These vitamins are not stored in the body (except Vitamin B12), so that’s why it
is regularly supplied in the diet
• No toxicity issues were observed in these vitamins
• B-complex vitamins are essential for normal metabolism and serve as
coenzymes in many reactions in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism
Water-soluble Vitamins (B & C)
The greater the
caloric intake,
the larger the
requirement
for B vitamins
Beri-beri (vitamin B-1 deficiency,
also known as thiamine deficiency)
might develop on a high carbohydrate
diet
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13. • Thiamine is essential for carboxylation reactions (such as carbohydrate
metabolism)
• Thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) is its active form and serves as coenzyme of
pyruvate dehydrogenase
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Dry beriberi Wet beriberi
Deficiency
Loss of short-
memory
Loss of eye
coordination
Test: Erythrocyte trans-ketolase activity, and Pyruvate dehydrogenase activity
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14. • It is associated with oxidoreductases (flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and the flavin
adenine dinucleotide (FAD))
• Required for the energy metabolism of both carbohydrates and lipids
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Lack of riboflavin
• Angular stomatitis
• Glossitis
• Scaly dermatitis
Test: Erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity
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15. • Niacin is required for NAD+ and NADP+ synthesis
• Niacin is a generic name for nicotinic acid (active from) or nicotinamide
• Niacin is active as part of the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
(NAD+) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+), both of
which participate in oxidoreductase catalyzed reactions
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Deficiency of Niacin
• Dermatitis
• Diarrhea
• Dementia
Superficial glossitis
Pellagra
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16. • Pyridoxine is the major form of vitamin B6 in the diet, and pyridoxal phosphate is
its active form.
• Pyridoxine is important for amino acid metabolism
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Pyridoxine requirements
increase with high protein
intake
Vitamin B6 deficiency
causes neurologic
symptoms
Test: Erythrocyte aspartate aminotransferase
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17. • Biotin is important for carboxylation reactions as coenzymye
• It is important in lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and in the catabolism of
the branched-chain amino acids
• Biotin is normally synthesized by the intestinal flora and this meets most of the
body requirements
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
Deficiency of Biotin
• Depression
• Hallucinations
• Muscle pain
• Dermatitis
• Immunodeficiency
disease (in children)
Consumption of raw eggs: The egg-white
protein avidin (preventing its absorption)
combines with biotin
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18. • Also called pteroyl-L-glutamic acid
• Folic acid derivatives are important in single carbon transfer reactions
• Folic acid is also necessary for the synthesis of purines and pyrimidine thymine,
and thus for the synthesis of nucleic acids
• Structural analogues of folate can be used as antibiotics and anticancer drugs
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)
Folate deficiency in adults causes
megaloblastic anemia (the
presence of enlarged blast cells in
the bone marrow)
Vitamin B12 must be
supplemented during
folate treatment
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19. • Vitamin B12 is part of the heme structure (similar to
porphyrin of heme)
• Together with folate (vitamin B9) and vitamin B6 it
controls the homocysteine metabolism, it is a cofactor for
methionine synthase, which converts homocysteine to
methionine
• It is absent from all plants but is presented in animals
(solely in bacteria)
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)
Source: Animal
products such as
fish, dairy
products, meats
Vitamin B12 deficiency
causes pernicious anemia
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20. • Vitamin C takes part in the synthesis of collagen
• Humans cannot synthesize ascorbic acid; therefore it is an essential nutrient
• Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy and compromises immune function
• There is no evidence that vitamin C taken in excess is toxic
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
Scurvy
Test: HPLC, and Antioxidant assay (DPPH)
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21. • Fruit and vegetables are the best sources of vitamins
• Benefits of vitamin supplementation in cancer and cardiovascular
disease
• Vitamin supplementation can be harmful
Dietary Supplementation of Vitamins
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22. • Unlike vitamins, which are organic substances
minerals are inorganic substances and
vegetables absorb minerals as they grow, while
animals digest it through their diet
• Minerals can be divided into two groups-those
needed in larger quantities (major minerals) and
those only required in tiny amounts (trace
elements)
Minerals
Classification of minerals
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23. • Major Minerals - are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc.
• Trace Minerals - are zinc, copper, selenium, manganese, etc.
• Minerals have 4 major functions:
- Body building – teeth and bones
- Control of body processes, especially the nervous system
- Essential part of body fluids and cells
- Form part of enzymes and other proteins necessary for the release of energy
Minerals
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24. Sodium
• Maintenance of
osmolality
• Electrophysiological
phenomenon
• Along with
potassium, it
maintains
transmembrane
Potassium
• Intracellular cation
• Disease: Hyperkalemia
Magnesium
• Cofactor for enzymes
• Maintains electrical
potential of nerve
• Diseases:
Hypomagnesemia,
and muscle weakness
Calcium
• Bone metabolism
• Cellular signaling
Iodine
• Synthesis of thyroid
hormones
Fluoride
• Structure of bone
and teeth
• It helps in prevent
teeth decay
Major Minerals
Iron
• Component of
heme (hemoglobin)
• Bound to
transferrin (for
transport)
• Deficiency:
Anemia (less), and
hemochromatosis
(high)
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25. 25
A) Na+, and K+ in nerve
impulse transmission.
B) Fe+2 in carrying oxygen
molecule.

26. Trace Elements
Zinc
• Components of many
enzymes involved in
carbohydrate and energy
metabolism
• Cellular transport and
protection
• Maintaining exocrine and
endocrine pancreatic
functions
• Deficiency: Renal
diseases, liver diseases,
acrodermatitis
enteropathica and delayed
healing
Copper
• Scavenges superoxides
• Crosslinker of collagen
• Deficiency: Anemia
(microcytic hypochromic
anemia), Wilson disease
(low copper) Menkes’
syndrome, skin damage,
and hair loss
• Excess of copper: Kaiser-
Fleischer ring (excess in
cornea)
Selenium
• Present as
selenomethionine and
selenocysteine
(antioxidant enzyme)
• Diseases: Keshan
Disease (low selenium),
and cardiomyopathy
Chromium
• Glucose tolerance
Manganese
• Superoxide dismutase
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27. • Vitamins function mostly as cofactors to enzymes
• Fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the adipose tissue, but there
usually is only a short-term supply of the water-soluble vitamins
• Vitamin and trace metal supplements are particularly important in
patients who remain on artificial diets
To Sum-up
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28. Thank You