Introductory Chapter: Vitamin C

Abstract

The word vitamin was originally coined to describe amines that are essential for life. It is now known that although not all vitamins are amines, there are organic micronutrients that mean that they must be consumed in small quantities for adequate growth and are required in numerous metabolic reactions to maintain homeostasis. There are 13 vitamins that are recognized by all researchers, and these can be classified as either being soluble in fats (fat soluble) (including vitamins A (retinols and carotenoids), D (cholecalciferol), E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), and K (quinones)) or soluble in water (water soluble) (including vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and the B group vitamins). B group vitamins include the following: vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin B9 (folic acid or folate), and vitamin B12 (cobalamins).