Tag: constitutes of diet

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they are stored in the body's fatty tissue. Vitamins B and C are water-soluble.

Vitamins act as cofactors or coenzymes in metabolic reactions and are essential for growth and development. Digestion is primarily handled by enzymes like pepsin and amylase, not vitamins.

Most animals lack the biochemical pathways to synthesize vitamins, which must be obtained through diet. Proteins, glycogen, and phospholipids are synthesized by animal cells.

Ascorbic acid is the chemical name for Vitamin C. The other acids listed are fatty acids or organic acids not classified as vitamins.

• The end product of protein digestion is amino acids.
• The most common source of Vitamin C is citrus fruits.
• The stomach mucosa’s epithelial lining consists only of surface mucous cells, which secrete a protective coat of alkaline mucus. A vast number of gastric pits dot the surface of the epithelium, giving it the appearance of a well-used pincushion, and mark the entry to each gastric gland, which secretes a complex digestive fluid referred to as gastric juice. Chief cells—Located primarily in the basal regions of gastric glands are chief cells, which secrete pepsinogen, the inactive proenzyme form of pepsin. HCl is necessary for the conversion of pepsinogen to pepsin.
• Fish oil contains enough vitamin A and D.

Vitamins with some enzymes act as coenzyme. Coenzymes are organic non protein molecules that bind with the protein molecule (apoenzyme) to form the active enzyme (holoenzyme). A number of the water-soluble vitamins such as vitamins B$ _1$, B$ _2$ and B$ _6$ serve as coenzymes.

Co-factor is a non-protein chemical compound that is required for the protein's biological activity. These molecules are commonly enzymes and co-factors can be helper molecules that assist in biochemical transformations such as vitamins.
Co-factors can be subdivided into either one or more inorganic ions , or a complex organic or metallo-organic molecule, called as a co-enzyme, most of which are derived from vitamins.
An inactive enzyme without the co-factor is called an apoenzyme while the complete enzyme with the co-factor is called as a holoenzyme.

In 1911, Casimir Funk isolated a concentrate from rice polishings that cured polyneuritis in pigeons. He named the concentrate vitamin because it appeared to be vital to life and because it was probably an amine.

Non-protein components of certain enzymes are called cofactors. If the cofactor is organic, then it is called a coenzyme. Coenzyme is relatively small molecules compared to the protein part of the enzyme and many of the coenzymes are derived from vitamins