1. Water-Soluble Vitamins
Jamie Pope, Steven Nizielski, and Alison McCook
NUTRITION
for a Changing World
FIRST EDITION
Chapter 11
Water-Soluble Vitamins
It’s Not a Germ
© 2016 by W. H. Freeman and Company & Scientific American

2. Chapter 11
Objectives
Describe the general properties of the water-soluble vitamins and proper handling techniques
Describe the possible causes of a vitamin deficiency
Describe the role of vitamins as coenzymes
List two excellent food sources of each of the water-soluble vitamins
Identify the vitamin deficiencies that cause megaloblastic anemia, and explain how this anemia occurs
Identify the vitamins that have neurological functions, act as an antioxidant, or are involved in energy metabolism, red blood cell production, and DNA and RNA synthesis

3. Mysterious Epidemic 1914: epidemic in the southern US
Signs and symptoms: scaly skin, mouth sores, diarrhea, confusion, and ultimately mental deterioration
In 1915, he conducted a study on inmates
Implicated diet as the cause
Prisoners had niacin deficiency
In 1914 he US Surgeon General asked Dr. Goldberger to investigate a mysterious epidemic, known at that time as mal de rosa, sweeping across the American South. Forty percent of those acquiring the disease died. Doctors believed it was a infectious disease caused by an as-yet-unidentified microbe. Dr. Goldberger wasn’t convinced, as it afflicted poor people, not wealthy people, and prisoners but not guards. A germ wouldn’t make sociological distinction. He believed it was caused by diet, as the ill people tended to eat diets consisting of cornbread, molasses, and a little pork fat.
In 1915 he conducted a study on 11 inmates in a Mississippi prison who volunteered to participate in exchange for a pardon. He fed them a corn-based, less-nutritious diet, and within five months, six of the men showed signs of pellagra, whereas other inmates on a diet that was more nutritious did not.

4. Water-Soluble Vitamins
Organic compounds
Include
Eight B vitamins
Vitamin C
Choline

5. Preserving Vitamins in Foods

6. Possible Causes of Vitamin Deficiencies

7. B Vitamins Most are coenzymes in energy metabolism They are
Thiamin (B1)
Riboflavin (B2)
Niacin (B3)
Pantothenic acid (B5)
Pyridoxine (B6)
Biotin (B7)
Folate (B9)
Cobalamin (B12)

8. B Vitamins Function as Coenzymes

9. Thiamin (Vitamin B1) Functions Coenzyme form in energy metabolism
Synthesis of RNA and DNA
Production of neurotransmitters

10. Food Sources of Thiamin

11. Thiamin Deficiency Beriberi Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Causes muscle wasting, fatigue, and mental disturbances
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Causes severe neurological disturbances
Alcohol decreases thiamin absorption, increases excretion in the urine, decreases storage in the liver, and decreases conversion of thiamin into its coenzyme
In the e1800s a painful degenerative disease called beriberi was sweeping East Asia because of the new technology to refine rice. The hulls of the rice were removed and discarded to increase shelf life. Removing the hull also removed many essential nutrients. Beriberi is rare in developed countries because of the enrichment of grains. As many as 80% of alcohol abusers encounter another form of thiamin deficiency called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

12. Niacin (Vitamin B3) Functions Energy metabolism
Synthesis of glucose, fatty acids, cholesterol, and steroid hormones
DNA repair
Cell signaling
Regulation of gene expression

13. Niacin Food Sources Found in meats
Synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan
Dietary recommendations given in niacin equivalents (NE)

14. Food Manufacturers Fortify or Enrich Flour
Fortified
Enriched

15. Niacin Deficiency Pellagra Symptoms
Fatigue, diarrhea, mental deterioration, death

16. Niacin Toxicity Supplements Therapeutic
Flushing, gastrointestinal effects, liver damage
Therapeutic
Lower cholesterol
Need monitoring by medical provider

17. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Function
Helps with energy metabolism

18. Food Sources of Riboflavin
Found in milk and dairy products
Destroyed by UV light

19. Riboflavin Deficiency
Ariboflavinosis
Symptoms: cracks and redness of the lips and corners of the mouth, swelling of the mouth and sore throat

20. Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6)
Functions
Acts as coenzyme in the release of glucose from glycogen
Metabolizes tryptophan to niacin
Helps in production of hemoglobin and neurotransmitters

21. Food Sources of Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

22. Vitamin B6 Deficiency Anemia Impaired immune function Weakness
Dermatitis
Neurological disorders

23. Vitamin B6 Toxicity Supplements above the UL Pain and numbness
Sometimes irreversible neurological effects

24. Pantothenic Acid Functions Food sources Helps with energy metabolism
Synthesizes fatty acids, cholesterol, steroid hormones, and two neurotransmitters
Food sources
Widespread in virtually all foods
Deficiency rare

25. Folate Functions Acts as coenzyme in metabolism of certain amino acids
Helps in DNA and RNA synthesis
Helps with normal cell division and development

26. Folate Equivalents

27. Folate Equivalents

28. Folate Food Sources

29. Folate Deficiency Can cause megaloblastic anemia
In pregnancy there is increased risk of neural tube defects

30. Folate Toxicity UL for synthetic forms of folic acid: 1,000 mcg/d
Masks vitamin B12–deficiency symptoms

31. Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) Absorption Functions
Requires acid and intrinsic factor
Functions
Acts as coenzyme for deriving energy from amino acids and for converting homocysteine to methionine
Maintains neural sheaths

32. Food Sources of Vitamin B12

33. Vitamin B12 Deficiency Megaloblastic anemia
Called pernicious anemia if because of lack of intrinsic factor
Cognitive impairment and problems with motor control

34. Choline Functions Choline deficiency Excessive intake
Intertwined with function of folate and vitamin B12
Forms neurotransmitter, acetylcholine
Is part of phospholipids in cell membranes
Choline deficiency
Liver damage
Excessive intake
Only through supplementation
Fishy body odor

35. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
Functions
Acts as coenzyme in biological reactions
Aids in hormone production
Involved in collagen synthesis
Is an antioxidant

36. Food Sources of Vitamin C

37. Vitamin C Deficiency
Scurvy

38. Vitamin C Toxicity UL = 2,000 mg May cause Diarrhea Bloating
Increase risk of kidney stones

39. Functions of Water-Soluble Vitamins

40. Summary
The essential water-soluble vitamins disperse easily in water-based solutions and include the B vitamins, vitamin C, and the vitaminlike nutrient choline
Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in large quantities in the body and must be consistently consumed in adequate amounts in order to meet the body’s needs and prevent deficiencies
Disease from dietary deficiency of water-soluble vitamins results from inadequate intake or conditions that decrease absorption with subsequent low blood levels; although deficiency of the many B vitamins may have similar signs and symptoms and often occur simultaneously, unique deficiency diseases have been identified for many of the B vitamins and vitamin C

41. Summary (Cont’d)
Although water-soluble vitamins rarely reach toxicity levels from food alone, excess intake through dietary supplements and/or fortified foods may exceed the established tolerable upper intake levels (UL) for some vitamins
The B vitamins include thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), cobalamin (B12), and folate (B9)
The B vitamins function primarily as coenzymes, chemical compounds that bind enzymes and are required for their function or activity; as coenzymes, they participate in energy metabolism, transforming carbohydrates, protein, and fat into energy, as well as a myriad of other types of reactions

42. Summary (Cont’d)
Megaloblastic anemia—characterized by large, immature, and sometimes irregularly shaped red blood cells—results from folate deficiency but is also seen with vitamin B12 deficiency
Choline, the most recently identified essential nutrient, is a water-soluble compound frequently grouped with the B vitamins because of its intertwined role with folate and vitamin B12
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin which functions as a coenzyme in biological reactions, aids in hormone production, serves as an antioxidant, and is involved in the synthesis of collagen