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Folate is required for the body to make DNA and RNA and metabolise amino acids necessary for cell division and maturation of blood cells. [1] [8] As the human body cannot make folate, it is required in the diet, making it an essential nutrient. [9] It occurs naturally in many foods.
The structure of vitamin B 12 was the first low-molecular weight natural product determined by x-ray analysis rather than by chemical degradation. Thus, while the structure of this novel type of complex biomolecule was established, its chemistry remained essentially unknown; exploration of this chemistry became one of the tasks of the vitamin's chemical synthesis.
In humans there are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C). Water-soluble vitamins dissolve easily in water and, in general, are readily excreted from the body, to the degree that urinary output is a strong predictor of vitamin consumption. [ 47 ]
(Many animal species can synthesize vitamin C, but humans cannot.) Certain vitamin-like compounds that are recommended in the diet, such as carnitine , are thought useful for survival and health, but these are not "essential" dietary nutrients because the human body has some capacity to produce them from other compounds.
Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamers found in foods and marketed as dietary supplements. [1] The human body requires vitamin K for post-synthesis modification of certain proteins that are required for blood coagulation ("K" from Danish koagulation, for "coagulation") or for controlling binding of calcium in bones and other tissues. [2]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a blood test screening for colorectal cancer that has an over 83% success rate at detecting the presence of this form of cancer.
Biotin (also known as vitamin B 7 or vitamin H) is one of the B vitamins. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes, both in humans and in other organisms, primarily related to the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids. [ 4 ]
A high capacity for long-term storage of retinol means that well-nourished humans can go months on a vitamin A-deficient diet, while maintaining blood levels in the normal range. [4] Only when the liver stores are nearly depleted will signs and symptoms of deficiency show. [4]