Food sources of vitamin K group

Vitamin K is part of a family of chemical, all fat-soluble naphthoquinones. They are including phylloquinone (K1), menaquinones (K2) and menadione (K3).

The first is vitamin K1 (phylloquinone or phytonadione), which comes from plants and makes up human dietary vitamin K. Phylloquinone is the predominant dietary form of vitamin K and is present in foods of plant origin.

These include green leafy as the major quantitative source and contribute approximately 60% of total phylloquinone.

Certain plant oils and margarine, spreads and salad dressings derived from these plant oils are also important dietary sources of phylloquinone.

The second is vitamin K2 (menaquinones), which is produced by bacteria present in the large intestine. It is found in butter, cow liver, chicken, egg yolks, fermented soybean products, and some cheese.

The fats of grass-fed animals are especially good sources of vitamin K2. For vegetarians who would shun animal fats, natto, the Japanese fermented food, is a good source of vitamin K2.

Third, there is vitamin K3 (menadione), is neither found naturally in food nor made by intestine bacteria. It is synthetic, man-made substance.
Food sources of vitamin K group

Food rich in pyridoxine

Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) is part of the enzyme system and act as coenzyme in the transmitting process, for the decarboxylation and racemization of amino acids, and as the essential coenzyme for glycogen phosphorylase.

It is also needed for the utilization of certain amino acids. Pyridoxine assists in the metabolism and use of glycogen that has been stored as a fuel.

Deficiency manifestations are dermatitis around the eyes, eyebrows, and angles of the mouth. They may so be a sensory neuritis and a decrease in certain white blood cells and increase in others.

Foods rich in vitamin B6 include bananas, barley, beef and beef organs, cabbage, raw carrots, yellow corn, lamb and the organs of lamb, malt ,molasses, peanuts, pork and the organs of hogs, potatoes, rice, salmon, sardine, tomatoes, tuna, wheat bran and germ, flour and yams. Milk, dairy products and eggs have less pyridoxine than fish and other meats, but they are still good sources.

Certain plant foods contain a unique form of vitamin B6 called pyridoxine glucoside.

Pyridoxine can be lost during processing of frozen foods, luncheon meats and cereal foods.
Food rich in pyridoxine

What is choline?

Choline had been isolated by Strecker in 1862 and its structure had been determine by Bayer.

It is a colorless, bitter-tasting, water soluble white syrup that takes up water rapidly on exposure to air and readily forms more stable crystalline salts with acids such as choline chloride or choline bitartrate.

Choline is crucial for the normal function of all cells. It is needed for the structural integrity and signaling functions of cell membranes; it directly affects cholinergic neurotransmitter; it is a major source of methyl groups in the diet; and is required for lipid transport form liver and for normal muscle function.

All, natural fats contain some choline; therefore, the vitamin is widely distributed in foods and feedstuffs.

The factor occurs naturally mostly in the form of phosphatidylcholine which because it is good emulsifying agent, is used as an ingredient or additive in many processed foods and food supplement.

Choline content of foods is usually determined by a colorimetric method or by microbiological assay.
What is choline?

Absorption and Transport of Thiamin

Absorption and Transport of Thiamin
The bioavailability of thiamin occurring naturally in foods is believed to be high. Foods containing the highest concentration of thiamin are listed below:
Yeasts
Pork
Sunflower seeds
Legumes

Occasionally, however, anti-thiamin factor may be present in the diet. For example, thiaminases present in the raw fish catalyze the cleavage of thiamin, thereby destroying its activity.

These thiaminases are thermolabile, however and cooking of fish rendered the enzymes inactive. Other anti-thiamin factors that are thermostable may be found in tea and certain fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, black currents, Brussels sprouts and red cabbage.

Absorption of thiamin can be both active and passive, depending upon the amount of the vitamin presented for absorption.

At low physiologic concentrations, thiamin absorption is an active process. This Na+ dependent, carrier mediated absorption occurs primarily in the jejunum but can occur in other portions of the small intestine as well.

When intakes of thiamin are high, the absorption route is predominantly passive. The rate of thiamin absorption is always quite high except in the case of ethanol ingestion and/or folate deficiency.

Ethanol ingestion interferes with active transport of thiamin, and folate deficiency prevents the normal duplication of enterocytes, thereby decreasing absorption, both active and passive.

Within the mucosal cells, thiamin is converted into a phosphate ester, in which form it move into the plasma. To be active as a coenzyme, thiamin must be converted to its pyrophosphate (diphosphate) form.

Conversion to the active coenzyme form requires adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and thiamin pyrophosphokinase, an enzyme found in the liver and brain (and perhaps in other tissue as well).

Another form of thiamin (thiamin triphosphate, or ATP) is synthesized in the brain by action of a thiamin diphosphate (ADP) – ATP phosphoryl-transferase.
Absorption and Transport of Thiamin