Tag: need for nutrients

The amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere remains fixed. Nitrogen cycle keeps the atmospheric. nitrogen more or less constant. Atmospheric nitrogen cannot be taken directly by plants and animals various steps process are done by microbes to convert it into usable forms. Vitamins contain nitrogen.

Monoglycerides and fatty acids enter absorptive cells in the small intestine through micelles; they leave micelles and recombine into chylomicrons, which then enter the bloodstream. Fat soluble vitamins are absorbed in the same manner as lipids; water soluble vitamins can be directly absorbed into the bloodstream from the intestine.

A vitamin is an organic molecule that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism.
A mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life.
 Essential nutrients and minerals cannot be synthesized in the organism, either at all or not in sufficient quantities, and therefore must be obtained through the diet.
 They are present in foods (like leafy or yellow vegetables, citrus fruits, meat, milk, eggs). Food which contains adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals, and high-quality proteins is a protective food. And it also protect against the development of a deficiency disease (as pellagra, beriberi, scurvy). Hence, the vitamins and minerals containing foods are together referred to as protective food.

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.