Vitamin - definition
• An organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny
amounts by an organisms.
• It cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an
organism, and must be obtained from the diet.
• Vitamins have diverse biological function:
– hormone-like functions as regulators of mineral metabolism (vit.
D),
– regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (some
forms of vit. A)
– antioxidants (vit. E, C)
– enzyme cofactors (tightly bound to enzyme as a part of prosthetic
group, coenzymes)
• An organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny
amounts by an organisms.
• It cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an
organism, and must be obtained from the diet.
• Vitamins have diverse biological function:
– hormone-like functions as regulators of mineral metabolism (vit.
D),
– regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (some
forms of vit. A)
– antioxidants (vit. E, C)
– enzyme cofactors (tightly bound to enzyme as a part of prosthetic
group, coenzymes)
