Function of Vitamins...

Function of Vitamins: Vitamins And Their Importance. Check us out at www.tutorvista.com A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. The term vitamin was derived from “vitamine,” a combination word from vita and amine, meaning amine of life, because it was suggested that the organic micronutrient food factors which prevented beriberi and perhaps other similar dietary-deficiency diseases, might be chemical amines. This proved incorrect for the micronutrient class, and the word was shortened. Today, a chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for most other animals, and biotin and vitamin D are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances. The term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often. Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their structure. Thus, each “vitamin” refers to a number of vitamer compounds that all show the biological activity associated with a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals are grouped under an alphabetized vitamin “generic descriptor” title, such as “vitamin …