Water Soluble Vitamins
Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)
• Compounds containing the mineral cobalt
• Synthesized by bacteria, fungi, and other lower organisms
• Role in folate metabolism
• Maintenance of the myelin sheaths
• RBC formation
Deficiency of Vitamin B12
• Pernicious anemia
• Nerve degeneration, weakness
• Tingling/numbness in the extremities
(parasthesia)
• Paralysis and death
• Looks like folate deficiency
• Usually (95%) due to decreased absorption ability
• Achlorhydria especially in elderly
• Injection of B12 needed
• Takes ~20 years on a deficient diet to see nerve
destruction
Food Sources of Vitamin B12
• Synthesized by bacteria, fungi and algae
Animal products (Stored primarily in the liver)
RDA
1 ug/ day for adults and elderly
1.2ug/day for pregnant women
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
• Synthesized by most animals (not by humans)
• Decreased absorption with high intake
• Excess excreted
Functions of Ascorbic acid
• To make collagen, the most plentiful protein in your
body.
• Collagen helps keep your bones, skin, teeth and blood
vessels healthy.
• Acts as an antioxidant, helping to reduce the risk of
developing chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.
• It keeps the immune system healthy and does not help
cure the common cold
• Essential for iron absorption
Deficiency of Vitamin C
• Scurvy
• Deficient diet for 20-40 days
• Fatigue, pinpoint hemorrhages
• Bleeding gums and joints. Hemorrhages
• Associated with poverty
• Rebound Scurvy
• Sudden halt to high levels of vitamin C
supplements
Scurvy
Scorbutic rosary Follicular
hemorrhages
Food Sources of Vitamin C
• Guava, amla, Citrus
• Easily lost through
fruit
cooking
• Potato
• Sensitive to heat
• Green pepper
• Sensitive to iron,
• Cauliflower
copper, oxygen
• Broccoli
• Strawberry
• Romaine lettuce
• Spinach
RDA for Vitamin C
• 40 mg/day for adults
• 60mg/day for pregnant women
Choline
• Newest essential nutrient
• All tissues contain choline
• Precursor for acetylcholine (neurotransmitter)
• Precursor for phospholipids
• Some role in homocysteine metabolism
Food Sources of Choline
Widely distributed
Milk
Liver
Eggs
Peanuts
Lecithin added to food
Choline deficiency
• Inadequate choline intake can also lead to fatty liver or non-
alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
• The most common symptoms of choline deficiency are fatty
liver and/or hemorrhagic kidney necrosis.
