VITAMINS A & C

• The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk
(1884-1967)
• The letters (A, B, C and so on) were assigned to the vitamins in the order of their
discovery.
Vitamin A: NOMENCLATURE
• Vitamin A (Retinol)
• C20H30O
• Vitamin A is the name of a group of fat-soluble retinoids, including retinol, retinal, and
retinyl esters.
Vitamin A: FUNCTIONS
• Vitamin A is involved in vision, immune system function, bone remodelling and skin
health.
VISION
– A form of Vitamin A called retinal is responsible for transmitting light sensation
in the retina of the eye.
– Rhodopsin, also called visual purple, a protein that absorbs light in the retinal
receptors and enables vision in low-light conditions
BONE REMODELING
– Normal functioning of osteoblasts and osteoclasts is dependent upon vitamin A
IMMUNE SYSTEM FUNCTION
– Vitamin A in the form of Retinoic Acid helps cells grow and mature and
contribute to tissue function
– It nourishes immune system by guiding the development of white blood cells,
cells that seek out and engulf infectious agents to prevent and fight disease.
SKIN HEALTH
– Vitamin A stimulates fibroblasts—the cells responsible for developing tissue that
keeps skin firm and healthy
– Vitamin A is important in the growth of all bodily tissues, including skin and hair.
 – It contributes to the production of sebum, the oil that helps maintain levels of
moisture in the skin and hair.
Vitamin A: CHEMICAL STRUCTURE
• Vitamin A or retinol has a structure depicted to the right.
• Retinol is the immediate precursor to two important active
metabolites:
• Retinal- plays a critical role in vision
• Retinoic acid- Vitamin A in the form of retinoic acid is essential for gene transcription.
• Vitamin A does not occur in plants, but many plants contain carotenoids such as beta-
carotene that can be converted to vitamin A within the intestine and other tissues.
Vitamin A: DIETARY SOURCES
• There are two types of vitamin A that are found in the diet.
– Preformed vitamin A is found in animal products such as meat, fish, poultry, and
dairy foods.
– Provitamin A is found in plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables. The
most common type of pro-vitamin A is beta-carotene.

VEGETABLES FRUITS MEAT FISH OTHERS

• Spinach • Papaya • Beef • Salmon • Eggs

• Broccoli • Mangoes liver • Tuna • Cheese
• Carrots • Cantaloupe • Lamb • Mackerel • Yoghurt
• Pumpkins melon liver • Milk
• Sweet • Apricots • Butter
potatoes • Watermelon • Spreads that
• Butternut • Tangerine have been
Squash • Guava fortified with
• Passion fruit vitamin A
• Red peppers

Vitamin A:EFFECTS OF COOKING

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.
 Is substance susceptible to losses
under given condition?
Vitamin
Soluble in Exposure to Exposure to Exposure to
water air light heat
Vitamin A No Partially Partially Relatively
stable

Vitamin C: NOMENCLATURE
• Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
• C6H8O6
• A water-soluble, carbohydrate-like substance that is involved in certain metabolic
processes of living organisms
• First isolated in 1928, vitamin C was identified as the curative agent for scurvy in 1932.
• Scurvy- a disease characterized by soreness and stiffness of the joints and lower
extremities, rigidity, swollen and bloody gums, and hemorrhages in the tissues of the
body.
• Deficiency of Vitamin C was the reason of one of the diseases sailors contracted after
long days in the sea called scurvy, the Latin name of which was scorbitus.
• Anti-scurvey was hence ascorbic and chemically, it was an acidic compound with pH
level below 7, hence it was coined Ascorbic Acid.
Vitamin C:FUNCTION
SYNTHESIS OF COLLAGEN
• Vitamin C is an essential nutrient involved in the growth , development and repair of all
body tissues.
• essential for the synthesis of collagen
– the major protein of connective tissues, such as skin, bone, cartilage, and tendon
– a protein important in the formation of connective tissue and in wound healing
ANTIOXIDANT
• Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, protecting against damage by reactive molecules called
free radicals.
IMMUNE SYSTEM FUNCTION
• It stimulates the immune system and aids in the absorption of iron from plant foods
• benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies
Vitamin C: CHEMICAL STRUCTURE
• Ascorbic acid is a weak organic acid that appears as a white, crystalline compound.
• Structurally, it is related to the six-carbon glucose
• Like glucose, ascorbic acid is soluble in water.
• The ionized form of ascorbic acid is known as ascorbate.
• It is the presence of the ascorbate ion that contributes to vitamin C’s role as a strong
reducing agent (antioxidant).
Vitamin C: DIETARY SOURCES

Vegetables
• Broccoli
• Potato
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Brussels sprouts
• Carrots
• Asparagus
• Onion
Fruits
• citrus fruits like orange
• lemon
• calamansi
• lychee
• red and green bell pepper
• pineapple
• kiwifruit
• guava
• papaya
• cantaloupe
• grapefruit
• passion fruit
• mango
• tomato
• Berries (blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry)
 • black currant
• apricot
• plum
• watermelon
• avocado
• Animal-sourced foods do not provide much vitamin C, and what there is, is largely
destroyed by the heat of cooking.
• For example, raw chicken liver contains 17.9 mg/100 g, but fried, the content is reduced
to 2.7 mg/100 g. Chicken eggs contain no vitamin C, raw or cooked
Vitamin C: EFFECTS OF COOKING

Is substance susceptible to losses

under given condition?
Vitamin
Soluble in water Exposure to air Exposure to Exposure to
light heat
Vitamin C yes yes yes yes

• Because vitamin C is easily destroyed by reactions with oxygen, especially in neutral or

alkaline solution or at elevated temperatures, it is difficult to preserve in foods.
• Cooking can reduce the vitamin C content of vegetables by around 60%
• Another cause of vitamin C being lost from food is leaching, where the water-soluble
vitamin dissolves into the cooking water, which is later poured away and not consumed.
• However, vitamin C does not leach in all vegetables at the same rate; research
shows broccoli seems to retain more than any other.
• Research has also shown that freshly cut fruits do not lose significant nutrients when
stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
• Prolonged storage or cooking may reduce vitamin C content in foods.