Biomolecules
7.0 Classification of Vitamins
7.0 Classification of Vitamins
Depending upon their solubility in water or fat, classified into two groups:
- Fat soluble vitamins: Which are soluble in fat and oils but insoluble in water. These are vitamins $A$, $D$, $E$ and $K$. They are stored in liver and adipose (fat storing) tissues.
- Water soluble vitamins: Which are soluble in water. These are vitamins $B$ group and $C$ group. They must be supplied regularly in diet as they are readily excreted in urine and cannot be stored (except vitamin $B_{12}$) in our body.
S.No | Name of Vitamins | Sources | Deficiency diseases |
1- | Vitamin $A$ | Fish liver oil, carrorts, butter and milk | Xerophthalmia (hardening of cornea of eye) Night blindness |
2- | Vitamin $B1$ (Thiamine) | Yeast, milk, green vegetables and cereals | Beri Beri (loss of appetite, retarded growth) |
3- | Vitamin $B2$ (Riboflavin) | Milk, eggwhite, liver, kidney | Chielosis (fissuring at corners of mouth and lips), digestive disorders and burning sensation of the skin. |
4- | Vitamin $B6$ (Pyridoxide) | Yeast, milk, egg yolk, cereals and grams | Convulsions |
5- | Vitamin $B_{12}$ | Meat, fish, egg and curd | Pernicious anaemia (RBC deficient in haemoglobin) |
6- | Vitamin $C$ (Ascorbic Acid) | Citrus fruits, amla and green leafy vegetables | Scurvy (bleeding gums) |
7- | Vitamin $D$ | Exposure to sunlight, fish and egg yolk | Rickets (bone deformities in children) and osteomalacia ( soft bones and joint pain in adults) |
8- | Vitamin $E$ | Vegetable oils like wheat germ oil, sunflower oil, etc. | Increased fragility of RBCs and muscular weakness |
9- | Vitamin $K$ | Green leafy Vegetables | Increased blood clotting time |
