ビタミン

 

ビタミン
Drug class
ビタミンB群の錠剤ボトル
Pronunciation	UK: /ˈvɪtəmɪn, ˈvaɪt-/ VIT-ə-min, VYTE-, US: /ˈvaɪtəmɪn/ VY-tə-min
Legal status

ビタミンとは、有機分子（またはビタマーと呼ばれる密接に関連した分子の集合）であり、適切な代謝機能のために少量であれば生物にとって必須である。必須栄養素は、生存に十分な量を生体内で合成することができないため、食事によって摂取しなければならない。例えば、ビタミンCはある種では合成できるが、他の種では合成できない。 ほとんどのビタミンは単一分子ではなく、ビタマーと呼ばれる関連分子のグループである。例えば、ビタミンEには8つのビタマーがある：4つのトコフェロールと4つのトコトリエノールである。

ビタミンという用語には、必須栄養素の他の3つのグループは含まれない： ミネラル、必須脂肪酸、必須アミノ酸である。

主要な健康団体は13種類のビタミンをリストアップしている：

• ビタミンA (オール-トランス-レチノール、オール-トランス-レチニル-エステル、およびオール-トランス-β-カロテンおよびその他のプロビタミン）。Aカロテノイド)
• ビタミンB₁ (チアミン)
• ビタミンB₂ (リボフラビン)
• ビタミンB₃ (ナイアシン)
• ビタミンB₅ (パントテン酸)
• ビタミンB₆ (ピリドキシン)
• ビタミンB₇ (ビオチン)
• ビタミンB₉ (葉酸と葉酸類)
• ビタミンB₁₂ (コバラミン)
• ビタミンC (アスコルビン酸とアスコルビン酸塩)
• ビタミンD (カルシフェロール)
• ビタミンE (トコフェロールとトコトリエノール)。
• ビタミンK (フィロキノン、メナキノン、メナジオン)

14番目のコリンを含むソースもある。

ビタミンには多様な生化学的機能がある。ビタミンAは細胞や組織の成長と分化の調節因子として働く。ビタミンDはホルモンに似た働きをし、骨や他の臓器のミネラル代謝を調節する。ビタミンB群は、酵素補因子またはその前駆体として機能する。ビタミンCとビタミンEは抗酸化物質として機能する。水溶性ビタミンの過剰摂取はその可能性は低いが、ビタミンの欠乏と過剰摂取の両方が臨床的に重大な疾病を引き起こす可能性がある。

すべてのビタミンは1913年から1948年の間に発見された。歴史的には、食事からのビタミン摂取が不足すると、ビタミン欠乏症になった。その後、1935年から酵母抽出ビタミンB複合体と半合成ビタミンCの錠剤が市販されるようになった。続いて1950年代には、一般の人々のビタミン欠乏症を予防するために、マルチビタミンを含むビタミン・サプリメントが大量生産・販売されるようになった。各国政府は、欠乏症を予防するために、小麦粉や牛乳などの主食にいくつかのビタミンを添加することを義務づけており、これを食品強化と呼んでいる。妊娠中の葉酸補給の推奨は、乳児の神経管欠損症のリスクを減少させた。

ビタミンのリスト

ビタミン		ビタマー	可溶性	U.S. 推奨摂取量 一日あたり 19–70歳)	欠乏症	過剰摂取症候群/症状	食料源
A		オール-トランス-レチノール (レチナール、レチノイン酸、レチノイド） プロビタミン A カロテノイド (αカロテン, βカロテン, γカロテン) キサントフィル β-クリプトキサンチン	fat	900 µg/700 µg	夜盲症, 過角化症, 角化軟化症	ビタミンA過剰症	動物由来のビタミンA / オール-トランス-レチノール：魚全般、レバー、乳製品； 植物由来のプロビタミンA／オール-トランス β-カロテン：オレンジ、熟した黄色の果物、葉野菜、ニンジン、カボチャ、カボチャ、ホウレンソウ
B	B1	チアミン チアミン一リン酸 チアミンピロリン酸塩	water	1.2 mg/1.1 mg	脚気、ウェルニッケ・コルサコフ症候群	眠気と筋肉の弛緩	豚肉、全粒穀物、玄米、野菜、ジャガイモ、レバー、卵
	B2	リボフラビン フラビンモノヌクレオチド (FMN) フラビンアデニンジヌクレオチド (FAD)	water	1.3 mg/1.1 mg	リボフラビン症、舌炎、口角炎		乳製品、バナナ、インゲン豆、アスパラガス
	B3	ニコチン酸 ナイアシンアミド ニコチンアミドリボシド	water	16 mg/14 mg	ペラグラ	肝臓障害（2g/日を超える用量）とその他の問題	肉、魚、卵、多くの野菜、キノコ、木の実
	B5	パントテン酸 パンテノール パンテチン	water	5 mg/5 mg	感覚異常	下痢、吐き気や胸焼けを起こすこともある。	肉、ブロッコリー、アボカド
	B6	ピリドキシン、ピリドキサミン、ピリドキサール	water	1.3–1.7 mg/1.2–1.5 mg	貧血、末梢神経障害	プロプリオセプション障害、神経損傷（100 mg/日を超える用量)	肉、野菜、ナッツ、バナナ
	B7	ビオチン	water	AI: 30 µg/30 µg	皮膚炎、腸炎		生卵黄、レバー、ピーナッツ、葉物野菜
	B9	葉酸塩, 葉酸	water	400 µg/400 µg	巨赤芽球性貧血と妊娠中の欠乏は、神経管欠損症などの先天異常と関連している	ビタミンB12欠乏症の症状を覆い隠すかもしれない；その他の作用	葉野菜、パスタ、パン、シリアル、レバー
	B12	シアノコバラミン, ヒドロキソコバラミン, メチルコバラミン, アデノシルコバラミン	water	2.4 µg/2.4 µg	ビタミンB12欠乏性貧血	証明されていない	肉、鶏肉、魚、卵、牛乳
C		アスコルビン酸	water	90 mg/75 mg	壊血病	胃痛、下痢、鼓腸	多くの果物や野菜、レバー
D	D1	エルゴカルシフェロールとルミステロールの分子化合物の混合物、1：1	fat	15 µg/15 µg	くる病 と 骨軟化症	ビタミンD過剰症
	D2	ergocalciferol	fat				sunlight-exposed mushrooms and yeast
	D3	コレカルシフェロール	fat				脂ののった魚（サバ、サケ、イワシ）、魚の肝油、ビタミンDを与えた鶏の卵
	D4	22-ジヒドロエルゴカルシフェロール	fat
	D5	シトカルシフェロール	fat
E		トコフェロール, トコトリエノール	fat	15 mg/15 mg	新生児の溶血性貧血は軽度である。	うっ血性心不全の発生率が増加する可能性がある。	多くの果物や野菜、ナッツや種子、種子油
K	K1	フィロキノン	fat	AI: 110 µg/120 µg	出血性疾患	ワルファリンの抗凝固作用が低下した。	ほうれん草などの葉物野菜
	K2	メナキノン	fat				鶏肉と卵、納豆、牛肉、豚肉、または魚

歴史

健康維持のために特定の食品を食べることの価値は、ビタミンが特定されるずっと以前から認識されていた。古代エジプト人は、肝臓を食べさせると夜盲症に効果があることを知っていた。この病気は、現在ではビタミンAの欠乏によって引き起こされることが知られている。大航海時代に大航海が進んだ結果、新鮮な果物や野菜が手に入らない期間が長くなり、ビタミン欠乏による病気が船の乗組員の間で一般的になった。

ビタミンの発見日とその供給源

発見年	ビタミン	食料源
1913	ビタミン A (レチノール)	鱈肝油
1910	ビタミン B1 (チアミン)	米ぬか
1920	ビタミン C (アスコルビン酸)	柑橘類、ほとんどの生鮮食品
1920	ビタミン D (カルシフェロール)	鱈肝油
1920	ビタミン B2 (リボフラビン)	肉、乳製品、卵
1922	ビタミン E (トコフェノール)	小麦胚芽油, 未精製植物油
1929	ビタミン K1 (フィロキノン)	葉野菜
1931	ビタミン B5 (パントテン酸)	肉, 全粒穀物, 多くの食品に含まれる
1934	ビタミン B6 (ピリドキシン)	肉、乳製品
1936	ビタミン B7 (ビオチン)	肉、乳製品、卵
1936	ビタミン B3 (ナイアシン)	肉、穀物類
1941	ビタミン B9 (葉酸)	葉野菜
1948	Vitamin B12 (コバラミン)	肉、内臓（レバー）、卵

1747年、スコットランドの外科医James Lindが、柑橘類食品が壊血病の予防に役立つことを発見した。壊血病はコラーゲンが適切に形成されず、傷の治癒不良、歯肉の出血、激しい痛み、そして死を引き起こす、特に致命的な病気である。1753年にリンドは壊血病に関する論文を発表し、壊血病を避けるためにレモンやライムを使用することを推奨し、イギリス王立海軍で採用された。このため、イギリスの船員は'ライミーというあだ名で呼ばれるようになった。しかし、19世紀にはレモンの代わりに西インド諸島で栽培されたライムが使われるようになり、ビタミンCが非常に少ないことが判明した。その結果、北極探検隊は壊血病やその他の欠乏症に悩まされ続けた。20世紀初頭、ロバート・ファルコン・スコットが2度の南極大陸探検を行ったとき、医学的には壊血病は汚染された缶詰食品によって引き起こされるという説が主流であった。

1881年、ロシアの医学者ニコライ・ルーニンがタルトゥ大学で壊血病の影響を研究した。彼は当時知られていた牛乳のすべての個別成分、すなわちタンパク質、脂肪、炭水化物、塩の人工混合物をマウスに与えた。個々の成分のみを摂取したマウスは死亡したが、牛乳そのものを摂取したマウスは正常に発育した。彼は、「牛乳のような自然食品には、これらの既知の主成分のほかに、生命維持に不可欠な未知の物質が少量含まれているに違いない」と結論づけた。しかし、彼の結論は指導教官であったグスタフ・フォン・ブンゲによって否定された。コルネリス・アドリアヌス・ペケルハリングによる同様の結果は、1905年にオランダの医学雑誌Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskundeに掲載されたが、広く報道されることはなかった。

In East Asia, where polished white rice was the common staple food of the middle class, beriberi resulting from lack of vitamin B₁ was endemic. In 1884, Takaki Kanehiro, a British-trained medical doctor of the Imperial Japanese Navy, observed that beriberi was endemic among low-ranking crew who often ate nothing but rice, but not among officers who consumed a Western-style diet. With the support of the Japanese navy, he experimented using crews of two battleships; one crew was fed only white rice, while the other was fed a diet of meat, fish, barley, rice, and beans. The group that ate only white rice documented 161 crew members with beriberi and 25 deaths, while the latter group had only 14 cases of beriberi and no deaths. This convinced Takaki and the Japanese Navy that diet was the cause of beriberi, but they mistakenly believed that sufficient amounts of protein prevented it. That diseases could result from some dietary deficiencies was further investigated by Christiaan Eijkman, who in 1897 discovered that feeding unpolished rice instead of the polished variety to chickens helped to prevent a kind of polyneuritis that was the equivalent of beriberi. The following year, Frederick Hopkins postulated that some foods contained "accessory factors" — in addition to proteins, carbohydrates, fats etc. — that are necessary for the functions of the human body.

Jack Drummond's single-paragraph article in 1920 which provided structure and nomenclature used today for vitamins

"Vitamine" to vitamin

In 1910, the first vitamin complex was isolated by Japanese scientist Umetaro Suzuki, who succeeded in extracting a water-soluble complex of micronutrients from rice bran and named it aberic acid (later Orizanin). He published this discovery in a Japanese scientific journal. When the article was translated into German, the translation failed to state that it was a newly discovered nutrient, a claim made in the original Japanese article, and hence his discovery failed to gain publicity. In 1912 Polish-born biochemist Casimir Funk, working in London, isolated the same complex of micronutrients and proposed the complex be named "vitamine". It was later to be known as vitamin B₃ (niacin), though he described it as "anti-beri-beri-factor" (which would today be called thiamine or vitamin B₁). Funk proposed the hypothesis that other diseases, such as rickets, pellagra, coeliac disease, and scurvy could also be cured by vitamins. Max Nierenstein a friend and Reader of Biochemistry at Bristol University reportedly suggested the "vitamine" name (from "vital amine"). The name soon became synonymous with Hopkins' "accessory factors", and, by the time it was shown that not all vitamins are amines, the word was already ubiquitous. In 1920, Jack Cecil Drummond proposed that the final "e" be dropped to deemphasize the "amine" reference, hence "vitamin," after researchers began to suspect that not all "vitamines" (in particular, vitamin A) have an amine component.<

Nobel Prizes for vitamin research

The Nobel Prize for Chemistry for 1928 was awarded to Adolf Windaus "for his studies on the constitution of the sterols and their connection with vitamins", the first person to receive an award mentioning vitamins, even though it was not specifically about vitamin D.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1929 was awarded to Christiaan Eijkman and Frederick Gowland Hopkins for their contributions to the discovery of vitamins. Thirty-five years earlier, Eijkman had observed that chickens fed polished white rice developed neurological symptoms similar to those observed in military sailors and soldiers fed a rice-based diet, and that the symptoms were reversed when the chickens were switched to whole-grain rice. He called this "the anti-beriberi factor", which was later identified as vitamin B₁, thiamine.

In 1930, Paul Karrer elucidated the correct structure for beta-carotene, the main precursor of vitamin A, and identified other carotenoids. Karrer and Norman Haworth confirmed Albert Szent-Györgyi's discovery of ascorbic acid and made significant contributions to the chemistry of flavins, which led to the identification of lactoflavin. For their investigations on carotenoids, flavins and vitamins A and B₂, they both received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1937.

In 1931, Albert Szent-Györgyi and a fellow researcher Joseph Svirbely suspected that "hexuronic acid" was actually vitamin C, and gave a sample to Charles Glen King, who proved its activity counter to scurvy in his long-established guinea pig scorbutic assay. In 1937, Szent-Györgyi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery. In 1943, Edward Adelbert Doisy and Henrik Dam were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of vitamin K and its chemical structure.

In 1938, Richard Kuhn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on carotenoids and vitamins, specifically B₂ and B₆.

Five people have been awarded Nobel Prizes for direct and indirect studies of vitamin B₁₂: George Whipple, George Minot and William P. Murphy (1934), Alexander R. Todd (1957), and Dorothy Hodgkin (1964).

In 1967, George Wald, Ragnar Granit and Haldan Keffer Hartline were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine "...for their discoveries concerning the primary physiological and chemical visual processes in the eye." Wald's contribution was discovering the role vitamin A had in the process.

History of promotional marketing

Once discovered, vitamins were actively promoted in articles and advertisements in McCall's, Good Housekeeping, and other media outlets. Marketers enthusiastically promoted cod-liver oil, a source of vitamin D, as "bottled sunshine", and bananas as a "natural vitality food". They promoted foods such as yeast cakes, a source of B vitamins, on the basis of scientifically determined nutritional value, rather than taste or appearance. In 1942, when flour enrichment with nicotinic acid began, a headline in the popular press said "Tobacco in Your Bread." In response, the Council on Foods and Nutrition of the American Medical Association approved of the Food and Nutrition Board's new names niacin and niacin amide for use primarily by non-scientists. It was thought appropriate to choose a name to dissociate nicotinic acid from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins. The resulting name niacin was derived from nicotinic acid + vitamin. Researchers also focused on the need to ensure adequate nutrition, especially to compensate for what was lost in the manufacture of processed foods.

Robert W. Yoder is credited with first using the term vitamania, in 1942, to describe the appeal of relying on nutritional supplements rather than on obtaining vitamins from a varied diet of foods. The continuing preoccupation with a healthy lifestyle led to an obsessive consumption of vitamins and multi-vitamins, the beneficial effects of which are questionable. As one example, in the 1950s, the Wonder Bread company sponsored the Howdy Doody television show, with host Buffalo Bob Smith telling the audience, "Wonder Bread builds strong bodies 8 ways", referring to the number of added nutrients.

Etymology

The term "vitamin" was derived from "vitamine", a compound word coined in 1912 by the biochemist Casimir Funk while working at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine. Funk created the name from vital and amine, because it appeared that these organic micronutrient food factors that prevent beriberi and perhaps other similar dietary-deficiency diseases were required for life, hence "vital", and were chemical amines, hence "amine". This was true of thiamine, but after it was found that vitamin C and other such micronutrients were not amines, the word was shortened to "vitamin" in English.

Classification

Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble or fat-soluble. 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. Because they are not as readily stored, more consistent intake is important. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract with the help of lipids (fats). Vitamins A and D can accumulate in the body, which can result in dangerous hypervitaminosis. Fat-soluble vitamin deficiency due to malabsorption is of particular significance in cystic fibrosis.

Anti-vitamins

Main article: Antinutrient

Anti-vitamins are chemical compounds that inhibit the absorption or actions of vitamins. For example, avidin is a protein in raw egg whites that inhibits the absorption of biotin; it is deactivated by cooking. Pyrithiamine, a synthetic compound, has a molecular structure similar to thiamine, vitamin B₁, and inhibits the enzymes that use thiamine.

Biochemical functions

Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions, and therefore most have multiple functions.

On fetal growth and childhood development

Main article: Nutrition and pregnancy

Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Using the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus develops from the nutrients it absorbs. It requires certain vitamins and minerals to be present at certain times. These nutrients facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among other things, skin, bone, and muscle. If there is serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a child may develop a deficiency disease. Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.

On adult health maintenance

Once growth and development are completed, vitamins remain essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up a multicellular organism; they also enable a multicellular life form to efficiently use chemical energy provided by food it eats, and to help process the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for cellular respiration.

Intake

Sources

For the most part, vitamins are obtained from the diet, but some are acquired by other means: for example, microorganisms in the gut flora produce vitamin K and biotin; and one form of vitamin D is synthesized in skin cells when they are exposed to a certain wavelength of ultraviolet light present in sunlight. Humans can produce some vitamins from precursors they consume: for example, vitamin A is synthesized from beta carotene; and niacin is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan. Vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others. Vitamin B₁₂ is the only vitamin or nutrient not available from plant sources. The Food Fortification Initiative lists countries which have mandatory fortification programs for vitamins folic acid, niacin, vitamin A and vitamins B₁, B₂ and B₁₂.

Deficient intake

See also: Vitamin deficiency

The body's stores for different vitamins vary widely; vitamins A, D, and B₁₂ are stored in significant amounts, mainly in the liver, and an adult's diet may be deficient in vitamins A and D for many months and B₁₂ in some cases for years, before developing a deficiency condition. However, vitamin B₃ (niacin and niacinamide) is not stored in significant amounts, so stores may last only a couple of weeks. For vitamin C, the first symptoms of scurvy in experimental studies of complete vitamin C deprivation in humans have varied widely, from a month to more than six months, depending on previous dietary history that determined body stores.

Deficiencies of vitamins are classified as either primary or secondary. A primary deficiency occurs when an organism does not get enough of the vitamin in its food. A secondary deficiency may be due to an underlying disorder that prevents or limits the absorption or use of the vitamin, due to a "lifestyle factor", such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or the use of medications that interfere with the absorption or use of the vitamin. People who eat a varied diet are unlikely to develop a severe primary vitamin deficiency, but may be consuming less than the recommended amounts; a national food and supplement survey conducted in the US over 2003-2006 reported that over 90% of individuals who did not consume vitamin supplements were found to have inadequate levels of some of the essential vitamins, notably vitamins D and E.

Well-researched human vitamin deficiencies involve thiamine (beriberi), niacin (pellagra), vitamin C (scurvy), folate (neural tube defects) and vitamin D (rickets). In much of the developed world these deficiencies are rare due to an adequate supply of food and the addition of vitamins to common foods. In addition to these classical vitamin deficiency diseases, some evidence has also suggested links between vitamin deficiency and a number of different disorders.

Excess intake

See also: Hypervitaminosis

Some vitamins have documented acute or chronic toxicity at larger intakes, which is referred to as hypertoxicity. The European Union and the governments of several countries have established Tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) for those vitamins which have documented toxicity (see table). The likelihood of consuming too much of any vitamin from food is remote, but excessive intake (vitamin poisoning) from dietary supplements does occur. In 2016, overdose exposure to all formulations of vitamins and multi-vitamin/mineral formulations was reported by 63,931 individuals to the American Association of Poison Control Centers with 72% of these exposures in children under the age of five. In the US, analysis of a national diet and supplement survey reported that about 7% of adult supplement users exceeded the UL for folate and 5% of those older than age 50 years exceeded the UL for vitamin A.

Effects of cooking

The USDA has conducted extensive studies on the percentage losses of various nutrients from food types and cooking methods. The table below shows whether various vitamins are susceptible to loss from heat—such as heat from boiling, steaming, frying, etc. The effect of cutting vegetables can be seen from exposure to air and light. Water-soluble vitamins such as B and C dissolve into the water when a vegetable is boiled, and are then lost when the water is discarded.

Vitamin	Is substance susceptible to losses under given condition?
	Soluble in Water	Air Exposure	Light Exposure	Heat Exposure
Vitamin A	no	partially	partially	relatively stable
Vitamin C	very unstable	yes	no	no
Vitamin D	no	no	no	no
Vitamin E	no	yes	yes	no
Vitamin K	no	no	yes	no
Thiamine (B1)	highly	no	?	> 100 °C
Riboflavin (B2)	slightly	no	in solution	no
Niacin (B3)	yes	no	no	no
Pantothenic Acid (B5)	quite stable	no	no	yes
Vitamin B6	yes	?	yes	< 160 °C
Biotin (B7)	somewhat	?	?	no
Folic Acid (B9)	yes	?	when dry	at high temp
Cobalamin (B12)	yes	?	yes	no

Recommended levels

In setting human nutrient guidelines, government organizations do not necessarily agree on amounts needed to avoid deficiency or maximum amounts to avoid the risk of toxicity. For example, for vitamin C, recommended intakes range from 40 mg/day in India to 155 mg/day for the European Union. The table below shows U.S. Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamins, PRIs for the European Union (same concept as RDAs), followed by what three government organizations deem to be the safe upper intake. RDAs are set higher than EARs to cover people with higher than average needs. Adequate Intakes (AIs) are set when there is not sufficient information to establish EARs and RDAs. Governments are slow to revise information of this nature. For the U.S. values, with the exception of calcium and vitamin D, all of the data date to 1997–2004.

All values are consumption per day:

Nutrient	U.S. EAR	Highest U.S. RDA or AI	Highest EU PRI or AI	Upper limit (UL)			Unit
				U.S.	EU	Japan
Vitamin A	625	900	1300	3000	3000	2700	µg
Vitamin C	75	90	155	2000	ND	ND	mg
Vitamin D	10	15	15	100	100	100	µg
Vitamin K	NE	120	70	ND	ND	ND	µg
α-tocopherol (Vitamin E)	12	15	13	1000	300	650-900	mg
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)	1.0	1.2	0.1 mg/MJ	ND	ND	ND	mg
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)	1.1	1.3	2.0	ND	ND	ND	mg
Niacin (Vitamin B3)	12	16	1.6 mg/MJ	35	10	60-85	mg
Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)	NE	5	7	ND	ND	ND	mg
Vitamin B6	1.1	1.3	1.8	100	25	40-60	mg
Biotin (Vitamin B7)	NE	30	45	ND	ND	ND	µg
Folate (Vitamin B9)	320	400	600	1000	1000	900-1000	µg
Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12)	2.0	2.4	5.0	ND	ND	ND	µg

EAR US Estimated Average Requirements.

RDA US Recommended Dietary Allowances; higher for adults than for children, and may be even higher for women who are pregnant or lactating.

AI US and EFSA Adequate Intake; AIs established when there is not sufficient information to set EARs and RDAs.

PRI Population Reference Intake is European Union equivalent of RDA; higher for adults than for children, and may be even higher for women who are pregnant or lactating. For Thiamin and Niacin the PRIs are expressed as amounts per MJ of calories consumed. MJ = megajoule = 239 food calories.

UL or Upper Limit Tolerable upper intake levels.

ND ULs have not been determined.

NE EARs have not been established.

Supplementation

Calcium combined with vitamin D (as calciferol) supplement tablets with fillers.

In those who are otherwise healthy, there is little evidence that supplements have any benefits with respect to cancer or heart disease. Vitamin A and E supplements not only provide no health benefits for generally healthy individuals, but they may increase mortality, though the two large studies that support this conclusion included smokers for whom it was already known that beta-carotene supplements can be harmful. A 2018 meta-analysis found no evidence that intake of vitamin D or calcium for community-dwelling elderly people reduced bone fractures.

Europe has regulations that define limits of vitamin (and mineral) dosages for their safe use as dietary supplements. Most vitamins that are sold as dietary supplements are not supposed to exceed a maximum daily dosage referred to as the tolerable upper intake level (UL or Upper Limit). Vitamin products above these regulatory limits are not considered supplements and should be registered as prescription or non-prescription (over-the-counter drugs) due to their potential side effects. The European Union, United States and Japan establish ULs.

Dietary supplements often contain vitamins, but may also include other ingredients, such as minerals, herbs, and botanicals. Scientific evidence supports the benefits of dietary supplements for persons with certain health conditions. In some cases, vitamin supplements may have unwanted effects, especially if taken before surgery, with other dietary supplements or medicines, or if the person taking them has certain health conditions. They may also contain levels of vitamins many times higher, and in different forms, than one may ingest through food.

See also: Megavitamin therapy

Governmental regulation

Most countries place dietary supplements in a special category under the general umbrella of foods, not drugs. As a result, the manufacturer, and not the government, has the responsibility of ensuring that its dietary supplement products are safe before they are marketed. Regulation of supplements varies widely by country. In the United States, a dietary supplement is defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. There is no FDA approval process for dietary supplements, and no requirement that manufacturers prove the safety or efficacy of supplements introduced before 1994. The Food and Drug Administration must rely on its Adverse Event Reporting System to monitor adverse events that occur with supplements.

In 2007, the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 21, part III took effect, regulating Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, or holding operations for dietary supplements. Even though product registration is not required, these regulations mandate production and quality control standards (including testing for identity, purity and adulterations) for dietary supplements. In the European Union, the Food Supplements Directive requires that only those supplements that have been proven safe can be sold without a prescription. For most vitamins, pharmacopoeial standards have been established. In the United States, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) sets standards for the most commonly used vitamins and preparations thereof. Likewise, monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph.Eur.) regulate aspects of identity and purity for vitamins on the European market.

Naming

Nomenclature of reclassified vitamins

Previous name	Chemical name	Reason for name change
Vitamin B4	Adenine	DNA metabolite; synthesized in body
Vitamin B8	Adenylic acid	DNA metabolite; synthesized in body
Vitamin BT	Carnitine	Synthesized in body
Vitamin F	Essential fatty acids	Needed in large quantities (does not fit the definition of a vitamin).
Vitamin G	Riboflavin	Reclassified as Vitamin B2
Vitamin H	Biotin	Reclassified as Vitamin B7
Vitamin J	Catechol, Flavin	Catechol nonessential; flavin reclassified as Vitamin B2
Vitamin L1	Anthranilic acid	Nonessential
Vitamin L2	5′-Methylthioadenosine	RNA metabolite; synthesized in body
Vitamin M or Bc	Folate	Reclassified as Vitamin B9
Vitamin P	Flavonoids	Many compounds, not proven essential
Vitamin PP	Niacin	Reclassified as Vitamin B3
Vitamin S	Salicylic acid	Nonessential
Vitamin U	S-Methylmethionine	Protein metabolite; synthesized in body

The reason that the set of vitamins skips directly from E to K is that the vitamins corresponding to letters F–J were either reclassified over time, discarded as false leads, or renamed because of their relationship to vitamin B, which became a complex of vitamins.

The Danish-speaking scientists who isolated and described vitamin K (in addition to naming it as such) did so because the vitamin is intimately involved in the coagulation of blood following wounding (from the Danish word Koagulation). At the time, most (but not all) of the letters from F through to J were already designated, so the use of the letter K was considered quite reasonable. The table Nomenclature of reclassified vitamins lists chemicals that had previously been classified as vitamins, as well as the earlier names of vitamins that later became part of the B-complex.

The missing numbered B vitamins were reclassified or determined not to be vitamins. For example, B₉ is folic acid and five of the folates are in the range B₁₁ through B₁₆. Others, such as PABA (formerly B₁₀), are biologically inactive, toxic, or with unclassifiable effects in humans, or not generally recognised as vitamins by science, such as the highest-numbered, which some naturopath practitioners call B₂₁ and B₂₂. There are also lettered B substances (e.g., B_m) listed at B vitamins that are not recognized as vitamins. There are other "D vitamins" now recognised as other substances, which some sources of the same type number up to D₇. The controversial cancer treatment laetrile was at one point lettered as vitamin B₁₇. There appears to be no consensus on the existence of substances that may have at one time been named as vitamins Q, R, T, V, W, X, Y or Z.

"Vitamin N" is a term popularized for the mental health benefits of spending time in nature settings. "Vitamin I" is slang among athletes for frequent/daily consumption of ibuprofen as a pain-relieving treatment.

See also

• Vitamin deficiency
• Hypervitaminosis
• Human nutrition

References

Notes

External links

• USDA RDA chart in PDF format
• Health Canada Dietary Reference Intakes Reference Chart for Vitamins
• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Fact Sheets Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• "Vitamins and minerals". nhs.uk. 23 October 2017.