Vitamins are essential organic molecules that must be obtained through diet, as the body cannot synthesize them. They are classified into water-soluble (e.g., vitamin C and B complex) and fat-soluble vitamins (e.g., vitamins A, D, E, and K), each serving diverse and crucial biochemical functions. Deficiencies in these vitamins can lead to various health issues, underscoring their importance in maintaining physiological well-being.

1. Submitted by
Revathy.S.R
Natural Science
Reg. No: 13971024

2. INTRODUCTION
Vitamins are organic molecules required in trace
amounts for the normal maintenance of life . They are
not synthesized by the body and hence they must be
present in the diet . Their importance in the
physiological well being of an organism was first
demonstrated by Lunin in 1881 .
By convention , the term vitamin includes
neither other essential nutrients , such as dietary
minerals , essential fatty acids , or essential amino acids
nor the great number of other nutrients that promote
health , and are required less often to maintain the
health of the organism . Thirteen vitamins are
universally recognized at present . Vitamins have
diverse biochemical functions . Each vitamin is equally
important.

3. CLASSIFICATION OF VITAMINS

4. WATER SOLUBLE VITAMINS
1 . VITAMIN C
 This vitamin is found in fresh fruits and vegetables.
 It is very easily destroyed by cooking and canning , but
freezing has no effect on this vitamin .
 Vitamin C is necessary for the maintenance of normal
connective tissue .
 It is required for the formation of collagen , bone
matrix , tooth dentine and other extra cellular
materials .
 It is also needed for the metabolism of many amino
acids and it acts as an anti oxidant.
 It is also needed for the metabolism of many amino
acids and it acts as an anti oxidant .

5. SOURCES OF VITAMIN C

6. DEFICIENCY DISEASE

7. VITAMIN B COMPLEX
The B complex includes 11 different vitamins.
They are thiamine , riboflavin , nicotinic acid ,
pyridoxine , pantho thenic acid , folic acid ,
cyanocobalamine , choline , inositol and para-amnobenzoic
acid .
In their chemical structure as well as in their effects
they differ.
But all of them tend to occur together and hence
they are all grouped together and hence they are all
grouped under the B complex

8. SOURCES OF VITAMIN B COMPLEX

9. DEFICIENCY DISEASE

10. FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS
1 . VITAMIN A
 Vitamin A is also called as retinol .
 Animal products such as butter , eggs and fish liver oil
are rich in this vitamin .
Many vegetable foods contain yellow or red pigment
called carotene , which in the animal body is converted
into vitamin A .
 Deficiency of this vitamin causes night blindness or
nyctalopia .
 For the normal health and growth of epithelial tissue
vitamin A is very essential .

11. SOURCES OF VITAMIN A

12. DEFICIENCY DISEASE

13. 2 . VITAMIN D
 This vitamin occurs in several different forms .
 They are able to cure the disease rickets and hence they
are called antirachitic factors .
 One of these factors is ergocalciferol which is produced
in plants under the influence of sunlight from a
substance called ergosterol .
 Cholecalciferol is another form of vitamin D
 It is synthesized in the skin of higher vertebrates by the
influence of sunlight from a substance present in the
skin known as 7- dehydrocholesterol .
 Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium
and phosphorus from the intestine .

14. SOURCES OF VITAMIN D

15. DEFICIENCY DISEASE

16. 3 . VITAMIN E
 This vitamin exists in numerous forms such as alpha ,
beta , gamma and delta tocopherols .
 Deficiency of this disease causes disturbances in
reproductive system .
 In the male degenerative changes occur in the testes
while in female the ability to complete pregnancy is lost
.
 Hence this vitamin has been called the anti-sterility
vitamin .
 vegetable and animal oils are good sources of this
vitamin .

17. SOURCES OF VITAMIN E

18. DEFICIENCY DISEASE

19. 4. VITAMIN K
 This vitamin is widely distributed in foods and quite large
quantities are manufactured by the bacteria harboured in the
human intestine .
 It is absolutely essential for the formation of prothrombin and
certain plasma factors involved in the coagulation of blood .
 Hence deficiency of vitamin K will prolong the blood coagulation
time .
 In man , vitamin K deficiency generally result from some
abnormality in its absorption rather than its absence in the diet .
 Prolonged use of antibiotics may destroy intestinal bacteria and
this may also result in deficiency of vitamin K .
 Synthetic vitamin K is known as menadion .

20. SOURCES OF VITAMIN K

21. DEFICIENCY DISEASE-ABNORMAL
BLEEDING

22. CONCLUSION
 Vitamin is an organic compound and a vital nutrient
that an organism require in limited amount.
 An organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when
the organism cannot synthesize the compound in
sufficient amount.
 Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions, and,
therefore, most have multiple functions

23. REFERENCE
 Sumathi.R & Rajagopal.M.V (2012), Fundamentals of
Food and Nutrients
 Dr. Vijayakumaran Nair (2004), Animal Physiology
www.google.com