The Nutritional Power of Plums: A Vitamin-Rich Delight

Plums are more than just a tasty fruit; they are a powerhouse of essential vitamins that support overall health and well-being. Among the many nutrients they offer, vitamin C takes center stage. Known for its antioxidant properties, vitamin C is crucial for bolstering the immune system, protecting cells from oxidative damage, and promoting radiant skin by enhancing collagen production. Additionally, this vitamin aids in the absorption of iron from plant-based foods, making plums especially beneficial for vegetarians and individuals prone to iron deficiency. Remarkably, a single plum can provide up to 10% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, depending on the variety and size.

Another standout nutrient in plums is vitamin K, which plays a pivotal role in blood clotting and bone health. Adequate vitamin K levels can prevent excessive bleeding, reduce the risk of fractures, and support long-term cardiovascular health by preventing arterial calcification. A medium-sized plum contains approximately 5-10% of the daily vitamin K requirement, making it a valuable addition to any diet aimed at strengthening bones and maintaining healthy blood flow.

Plums are also a rich source of vitamin A, primarily in the form of beta-carotene. This precursor to vitamin A is vital for eye health, particularly in reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration and night blindness. It also supports immune defense and facilitates cell growth and repair. Once consumed, the body converts the beta-carotene in plums into vitamin A, ensuring a steady supply of this essential nutrient.

In addition to these key vitamins, plums contain smaller amounts of B vitamins like vitamin B6 and folate. These nutrients are instrumental in energy metabolism, brain health, and the production of red blood cells. Folate, in particular, is vital for pregnant women, as it supports fetal development and reduces the risk of neural tube defects.

With their robust vitamin profile and myriad health benefits, plums are a delicious and nutritious way to enhance a balanced diet, making them a smart choice for people of all ages.
The Nutritional Power of Plums: A Vitamin-Rich Delight

Apples: A Nutritious and Versatile Superfood

Apples are among the most widely consumed fruits globally, cherished for their crisp texture and a balanced sweet-tart flavor. Beyond their delicious taste, apples are nutritional powerhouses, offering a plethora of health benefits that make them an indispensable addition to any diet.

One standout nutrient in apples is vitamin C (ascorbic acid), a potent antioxidant. This vitamin is essential for combating oxidative stress caused by free radicals, thereby reducing the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Vitamin C also bolsters the immune system and facilitates collagen production, which is vital for maintaining healthy skin, cartilage, and bones.

While vitamin C takes the spotlight, apples also contain vitamin A, which supports vision, immunity, and cell growth, and a suite of B vitamins, including B6 (pyridoxine), B1 (thiamine), and B2 (riboflavin). These B vitamins are integral to energy metabolism, red blood cell production, and the maintenance of healthy skin and nervous system function.

A significant health benefit of apples lies in their dietary fiber content, especially pectin, a soluble fiber. Pectin helps regulate blood sugar by slowing digestion, which prevents sudden spikes in glucose levels. It also enhances gut health by promoting beneficial gut bacteria and aids in reducing LDL cholesterol, thereby supporting cardiovascular health. Recent studies have linked regular apple consumption to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, attributed in part to this fiber content.

Apples also contain phytonutrients, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, which possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These compounds have been associated with improved brain function and a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

Incorporating apples into daily routines is simple and versatile. They can be enjoyed fresh as a snack, sliced into salads, blended into smoothies, or baked into wholesome recipes. With numerous varieties available year-round, apples cater to diverse taste preferences while delivering substantial health benefits.

Regular apple consumption is a delicious and easy step towards improved overall health, exemplifying the adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Apples: A Nutritious and Versatile Superfood

Vitamin B Complex: Vitamin B5

Vitamin B5, also called pantothenic acid, belongs to the group of water-soluble B vitamins. Pure pantothenic acid is a viscous, yellow oil. It is stable at neutral pH, but is readily destroyed by acid, alkali, and heat.

Calcium pantothenate, a white, odorless, crystalline substance, is the form of pantothenic acid usually found in commercial vitamin supplements due to its greater stability than the pure acid. Pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement.

It was largely the efforts of research groups associated with R.J. Williams, C.A. Elvehjem, and T.H. Jukes that resulted in the identification of pantothenic acid as an essential dietary factor. Its name originates from the Greek word "pantos", meaning everywhere, as it can be found throughout all living cells.

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): Symptoms of deficiency are fatigue, chronic stress, and depression. Vitamin B5 is needed for hormone formation and the uptake of amino acids and the brain chemical acetylcholine, which combine to prevent certain types of depression.

The chemical structure of pantothenic acid consists of pantoic acid and β -alanine bound in amide linkage.

The main function of this water-soluble B vitamin is in the synthesis of coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein. CoA is essential for fatty acid synthesis and degradation, transfer of acetyl and acyl groups, and a multitude of other anabolic and catabolic processes.

CoA is essential to numerous metabolic pathways that sustain life:
• Synthesis of pantothenic acid cofactors (CoA, 4’-phosphopantetheine)
• Cofactor and co-substrate function (CoA, 4’-phosphopantetheinylation)
• Acyl-carrier protein
• 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase
• α-aminoadipate semialdehyde synthase

Pantothenic acid is naturally present in almost all foods. It is also added to some foods, including some breakfast cereals and beverages (such as energy drinks). Foods that are considered to be exceptionally good dietary sources of pantothenic acid include peanut butter (5-8 mg/100 g), liver (5-7 mg/100 g), kidney (4-6 mg/100 g), peanuts (2-3 mg/100 g), almonds (2-3 mg/100 g), wheat bran (2-3 mg/100 g), cheese (1.5 mg/100 g), and lobster (1.5 mg/100 g).

Pantothenic acid in dietary supplements is often in the form of calcium pantothenate or pantethine.

Refining, freezing, canning and cooking food causes losses of pantothenic acid, so a modern processed food diet would be expected to have lower amounts of vitamin B5 than a whole foods diet.

About 85% of dietary pantothenic acid is in the form of CoA or phosphopantetheine. These forms are converted to pantothenic acid by digestive enzymes (nucleosidases, peptidases, and phosphorylases) in the intestinal lumen and intestinal cells. Pantothenic acid is absorbed in the intestine and delivered directly into the bloodstream by active transport.
Vitamin B Complex: Vitamin B5

Elmer McCollum - Discovering Vitamin A, Vitamin B and Vitamin D

Elmer Verner McCollum (March 3, 1879 – November 15, 1967) was born and raised in Kansas and attended the University of Kansas. His studies were initially directed toward medicine, but he eventually decided that chemistry better captured his interests, and he completed his work for a Masters degree in chemistry at Kansas. He was accepted into the Ph.D. program at the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale.

Contrary to the dogma that all fats had similar nutritional value, in 1913, Elmer McCollum and his associate Marguerite Davis at Wisconsin showed butter and egg yolk were not equivalent to lard and olive oil in supporting the growth and survival of rats. The growth-supporting ‘accessory factor’ became known as ‘fat-soluble A’ in 1918 and then ‘vitamin A’ in 1920.

“Fat-soluble A” was first believed to be a single vitamin capable of curing xerophthalmia and rickets. Cod-liver oil was first used as a therapeutic agent in the 1770s. McCollum showed that cod-liver oil aerated at the temperature of boiling water for 12 to 20 hr retained its antirachitic activity in rats, but was ineffective against xerophthalmia. In addition, these properties were unequally distributed in certain foods. Apparently, two separate factors were involved. The factor effective against rickets later was named vitamin D.

The discovery of vitamin A by McCollum and Davis in 1913 ushered in the era of accessory food substances culminating in the achievement of that goal. It included the discovery of vitamin D and its production in skin caused by ultraviolet light. This was followed by a description of its actions at the physiological level that resulted in a healthy skeleton and beyond.

In 1915 McCollum and Davis had found that when water oralcohol extractions of wheat germ or rice polishing were added, polished rice was greatly improved in nutritional quality. These experiments constituted the basis for their discovery that the anti-beriberi factor, necessary to relieve polyneuritis in pigeons, was necessary for rats and that there were apparently only two unidentified nutrients necessary for such animals.

They proposed the term fat-soluble A and water-soluble B, respectively, to designate the two unidentified nutrients. The isolation of B1was achieved in 1926 by Dutch scientists in Java using small “rice birds” fed on washed white rice supplemented with cod liver oil for their assays.

Elmer McCollum - Discovering Vitamin A, Vitamin B and Vitamin D

Milk: Excellent source of vitamin B

Milk contains both water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins. The nonfat portion of milk is especially plentiful in the B vitamin riboflavin, a greenish fluorescent-colored vitamin. It acts as a photosynthesizer and is readily destroyed upon exposure to sunlight.

Dairy milk contains more vitamin B than soy milk. It has 8 types of vitamin B, compared to soy milk which contains 7 types but lacking in vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is necessary for growth, maintenance of nerve tissues and normal blood formation, Milk provides 0.44 μg vitamin B12/100 g. Three glasses of milk would furnish all of the 2.4 μg vitamin B12 recommended for most adults.

Vitamin B12 content was measured in milk samples of 544 Dutch Holstein Friesian cows: content was 4.4 μg/L on average and varied between 1.0 and 12.9 μg/L. This variation between cows could to large extend be attributed to genetic factors.

Riboflavin or B2 vitamin is a yellow-green fluorescent compound and in addition to its role as a vitamin, it is responsible for the colour of milk serum.
Milk: Excellent source of vitamin B 

The importance of B complex vitamin for depression

Depression can happen to anyone. It is estimated that about 15 percent of us will have at least one bout of depression in their lifetimes that’s severe enough to require medical attention.

Because folic acid and the B-complex vitamins including B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12 are known involved in the synthesis of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, there has been considerable interest in their capacity to ameliorate mood disorders.

Serotonin is a brain chemical that transmits signals between nerve cells and causes blood vessels to narrow, while dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. Norepinephrine is a substance that is released predominantly from the ends of sympathetic nerve fibers and that acts to increase the force of skeletal muscle contraction and the rate and force of contraction of the heart.

Vitamins are an essential component of human diet for proper health maintenance. Each vitamin has a distinct chemical structure and has important roles in proper functioning of key reactions within cellular metabolism and gene expression. Dr. Kim Skarupski in 2010 found a lower incidence of depression symptoms in association with higher intake, including supplementation, of vitamins B6, B12 and folate among a population of more than 3,000 older community residents.

Folate influences the production of the neurotransmitters involved in depression and has been used as a booster for antidepressants in people who have folate deficiency.
The importance of B complex vitamin for depression

Characteristics of water soluble vitamins

Vitamin are chemically unrelated organic substances that are grouped together because each is essential in the diet in minute amounts and is required for specific metabolic reactions within the cells. Vitamins fall into two categories: those that dissolve in water (water soluble vitamins) and those that dissolve in fat (fat soluble vitamins).

 L-ascorbic acid

The nine water-soluble vitamins – eight B vitamins and vitamin C are found in the watery components of foods, such as the juice of an orange. Water-soluble vitamins have a vital roles as coenzymes which are necessary for almost every cellular reaction in the body. These vitamins are distributed into water-filled compartment of the body, including the fluid that’s surrounds the spinal cord.

Characteristics of water-soluble vitamins:
*Most are readily absorbed in the jejunum
*Water-soluble vitamins are easily absorbed and just as easily excreted in the urine
*Human body stores very small amounts of each of these vitamins.
*Because of their limited storage, daily intake is important.
*Deficiency symptoms appear relatively quickly
*Lower risk of toxicity
*Easily absorbed into blood travel freely in blood
*In food, it easily dissolves in water and drain away with cooking water, some destroyed on exposure to light, heat or oxygen during processing
*Less stable
*Most B vitamins share similar roles, vitamin C serves many different roles on the body
Characteristics of water soluble vitamins

Vitamin B complex

The group of vitamin known as the B complex helps the body to produce energy from food by aiding the conversion of carbohydrate to glucose - the body’s main fuel. The B complex are all water soluble, and they are generally needed in small amounts.

It is called the B complex, since it is composed of several types of vitamin Bs, each responsible for specific functions in the human body.

Thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), nicotinic acid or niacin (B3), vitamin B6, biotin and pantothenic acid (B5) are examples of vitamin B. This B complex also includes amino-benzoic acid and inositol.

The presence of B complex vitamins on the body is vital to the metabolism of both fats and proteins. They are also essential for a well-functioning liver and gastrointestinal tract, the nervous system, and for maintaining healthy skin, hair and eyes.

The B-complex vitamins are important components of the stress response in that deficiency of vitamin B1, B5 and B6 can lead to anxiety reactions, depression, insomnia, and cardiovascular weakness, while B2 and niacin deficiencies have been known to cause stomach irritability and muscle weakness.

Three of the B vitamins are especially important: folate, B6 and B12.
*Folate is extremely important for general health
*Vitamin B6 is important for heart and also needed for the manufacture of serotonin, an important chemical in the brain that helps prevent depression.
*Vitamin B12 has many functions, including keeping the brain, heart, arteries, and nervous system healthy.
Vitamin B complex

p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)

p-Aminobenzoic acid is comprised of a benzene ring substituted with an amino group and a carboxyl group. This substance are not actually essential vitamin but may be considered ‘conditional’ B vitamin. Humans under special circumstances require
it.

p-aminobenzoic acid is found in significant amounts in liver, kidney, spinach, whole grains ,mushrooms, yeasts, eggs and molasses. It is an essential growth factor for many species of bacteria, which use it for the biosynthesis of folate.

p-aminobenzoic acid

p-aminobenzoic acid always functions as a part of folate molecule in the human system.  It is synthesized by intestinal bacteria.  In bacteria, enzymes are available that can synthesize folate from pteridine, p-aminobenzoic acid glutamate.

High doses of p-aminobenzoic acid may cause nausea, vomiting and possibly liver damage. p-aminobenzoic acid is used as a sunscreen to protect against ultraviolet rays. It has also been used to turn gray hair back to it natural color.
p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)

What is carnitine?

Although often called an amino acid because of its chemical makeup, L- carnitine is actually a vitaminlike nutrient, related in structure to the B vitamins.

It is an essential cofactor in a variety of biochemical steps involved in lipid metabolism. L- carnitine is the biologically active form of carnitine. It is important in the production of energy. Carnitine specifically participates in the transfer of long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane in preparation for their subsequent metabolism.

It is similar to a vitamin with the exception that under normal conditions higher animal synthesize their total requirement with their bodies, hence, it is unnecessary to supply this substance in food on a daily basis.

Supplementation appears to build stamina and endurance and may therefore enhance exercise performance - particularly in people with low levels of this nutrient.

Carnitine is found in varying concentration in breast milk and infant formulas.
What is carnitine?

Vitamin B Complex

The vitamins that belong in the B complex group are B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B1 (niacin and niacinamide), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin), folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, choline, inositol and PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid).

The grouping of these compounds under the term B complex is based upon their common source their close relationship in vegetable and animal tissues and their functional relationships.

B vitamins are essential nutrients for growth, development, and a variety of other bodily functions.

Each vitamin has its own unique biological role to play and its own properties. B vitamin also work together in the body and many of them are found in the same foods.

They play a major role in the activities of enzymes (proteins) that regulate chemical reactions in the body. This is especially important in turning food into energy and other needed substances.

B vitamins are found in a variety of plant and animal food sources. Since the B vitamin work best as a team, it’s important to take a B-complex supplement when taking additional amounts of any single B vitamin.

They are also vital in the metabolism of fats and protein.

While B vitamins are an important part of the diet and are needed to help avoid many health conditions, there is not enough scientific evidence to determine if B vitamins can reduce the risk of cancer.

Vitamin B Complex

Vitamin B deficiency

Vitamin B complex helps the body to handle stress and improves all the functions in the cells.

The B complex vitamins are involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fat in the body.

The B vitamins are important for antibody production and red blood cells, and assist with stress related behaviors.

The signs and symptoms of early vitamin deficiency are often more elusive and subtle than those of the major diseases.

Deficiency of certain B vitamins can cause loss of energy, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, depression, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, muscle cramps, respiratory infections, hair loss, poor growth in children, and birth defects in the fetuses of pregnant women.

It also include digestive disorders, poor muscle tone, sores on the skin and anemia.

If the thiamine or vitamin B1 is deficient in the body, thymus gland and lymph tissue will shrank and the body will reduce antibody response and decrease white blood cell response.

Clinical manifestation of deficiency of some B vitamins such as beriberi, peripheral neuropathies, pellagra, and oral and genital lesions were once major public health probes in some parts of the world.

A deficiency of B vitamins also often causes depression. All the B vitamins working harmony to keep the liver healthy to stabilize brain functions and to metabolize sugar correctly. Consequently, this prevents irritability and fatigue.

Antibiotics deplete the B vitamins and the typical canine diet of processed foods is low in B vitamins increasing the need for supplementation.

Vitamin B deficiency

Vitamin B complex

B vitamins are found in a variety of plant and animal food sources. The B vitamins are utilized as coenzymes (key components of enzymes) in almost all part of the body.

There are essential for maintaining healthy nerves, skin, hair, eyes, liver and mouth and for preserving good muscle tone in the gastrointestinal tract.

They are water soluble and important group of nutrients for the proper functioning of the blood and entire immune system.

The vitamins that belong in the B-complex family includes B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin and niacinamide), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin), folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, choline, inositol and PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid).

Each B complex vitamins has a fundamentally different function and a very distinct chemical structure for others.

Deficiency of certain B vitamins can cause anemia, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, depression, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, muscle cramps, respiratory infections, hair loss, eczema, poor growth in children, and birth defects in the fetuses of pregnant women.

It was discovered in London that when patients were orally given pantothenic acid, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis improved.

B vitamins are found in many types of foods. They are often naturally group together in various combinations to help one another do their jobs. Also, they often need to work in tandem with other molecules and different types of vitamins to function most efficiently.  
Vitamin B complex

The importance of vitamin B complex

B vitamins acts primarily as coenzymes, or as parts of coenzymes (compounds that enables specific enzymes to function). Scientists know that B vitamins influence several important bodily functions:

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) help the body produce energy and affect enzymes that influence the muscles, nerves, and heart.

Thiamine is the vitamin portion of the coenzymes thiamin pyrophosphate TPP), which participates in a vital reactions known as decarboxylation which removes a carboxyl group and release it as carbon dioxide.

Vitamin B1 and vitamin B2, is required for multiple bodily functions that are likely to directly and indirectly influence immune function.

Vitamin B3 (niacin) also has a role in energy production in cells and in maintaining the health of the skin, nervous system, and digestive system.

Niacin deficiency leads to pellagra. Niacin is active in the human body in two coenzyme forms: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP).

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) influences normal growth and development.

It is essential for life as component of coenzyme A where it is involved in gene expression through replication of DNA and transcription of DNA and transcription of cell messages in cell signaling.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) helps the body break down protein, and helps maintain the health of red blood cells, the nervous system, and parts of the immune system.

Vitamin B6, functions as a coenzymes, usually in the form of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) for more than 100 enzymes. PLP facilitates the transfer of amino groups and in thus critical for the production of nonessential amino acids.

Vitamin B7 (biotin) helps break down protein, and carbohydrates, and helps the body make hormones.

It is used to the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats as well as to support adrenal function. It helps maintain a healthy nervous system.

Vitamin B9 (folic acid) helps the cells in the body make and maintain DNA, and is important in the production of red blood cells.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) plays a role in growth, development, the production of blood cells, the functions of the nervous system, and how the body uses folic acid and carbohydrates.

Vitamin B12 is essential to the conversion of folate to an activated form. Without vitamin B12, folate cannot function in DNA synthesis or blood cell synthesis, nor can it metabolize homocysteine.
The importance of vitamin B complex

Discovery of Vitamin B

The Englishman Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins is given credit for approaching the discovery of the vitamin concept, when in 1906, he determined that food contains essential ingredients beyond carbohydrates, minerals fats, proteins and water.

The term vitamin was first used for water soluble substance which was necessary for the nutrition of infants and which was separated from wheat germ, yeasts and milk.

In fact this term was used after the first discovery of anti-beriberi factor by Casimir Funk in 1912. The first vitamin B discovered was vitamin B1 by Funk that was extracted from police rice husk.

It was then isolated in pure and crystalline form by B.C.P Jansen in 1925.

Casimir coined the term ‘vital amine’ to describe the class of chemicals that he and other researchers were studying, and the word was simplified to ‘vitamin’ by 1920.

Three years after this discovery, Elmer Vernon McCollum and Marguerite Davis labeled it ‘water soluble B’ which British biochemist Jack Cecil changed to vitamin B in 1920.

Casimir Funk (1884-1967), a Polish born American biochemist, collected all published literature in the issue of deficiency diseases. He was the first to isolate niacin, latter called vitamin B3.
Discovery of Vitamin B

Discovery of Vitamins B by Casimir Funk

Beriberi, was endemic for centuries and finally proved to be deficiency disease. In 1890 Eijkman developed a polyneuritis by feeding polished rice to hens. This was cured by feeding rice polishing by Dr. Casimir Funk in 1911.

Casimir Funk born in 1884, had grown up in a Poland that was then under a Russian government.

His father, a physician, was able to send Casimir at the age of sixteen to continue his studies in Switzerland, first in Geneva then moving to Berne to specialize in organic chemistry and obtain a doctoral degree at the early age of twenty.

He began his career in Warsaw before moved in 1904 to Pasteur Institute in Paris; then in 1906 to Berlin to work on amino acids and again in 1901 to the Lister Institute in London.

In London, he managed to extract from yeast a compound that was very effective against beriberi, which he called vitamin because its amine content,

He made a great advances in 1912 when he hypothesized that certain diseases such as beriberi, scurvy, pellagra and rickets are caused by deficiency of nutrients.

Casimir Funk coined the word “vitamine”. He describe an organic compound ‘thyamin’ as a ‘vital amine’ and it became known as vitamin B.

He believed that all these substance were ‘vital amines’, however, it was soon shown that most of the vitamins are unrelated chemically and that only a few of them are amines.

Later, as each vitamin was isolated in pure form and its chemical structure was determined, it was given a chemical name.
Discovery of Vitamins B by Casimir Funk

Vitamin B

The Vitamin B are water soluble. The vitamin B are utilized as coenzymes in almost all parts of the body.

The vitamins that belong to vitamin B complex group are vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folic acid, biotin, choline, inositol and para-aminobenzoic acid.

It is necessary for nerve function, appetite, and normal digestion. It is also required for growth, fertility, and lactation.

B vitamins have many roles to play in ensuring optimal brain function. They are vital for delivering oxygen to the brain and protecting it from harmful oxidants.

They are also help turn glucose into energy within brain cells and help to keep the neurotransmitters in circulation.

Vitamin B also necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrate, fats and proteins. It also may play a role in supporting immune system.

Vitamin B6 and B12 and folic acid are most important in terms of enhancing mood.

This vitamin is often lacking in the diet because much of the naturally occurring amounts of it in food are destroyed during the processing of the food. The adult requirement of vitamin B is related to the food intake.

This vitamin makes up a part of enzyme systems involved in the oxidation and reduction of different materials in the body.

Deficiency of riboflavin generally results in growth retardation and may result in vision impairment, scaling of the skin and lesions on mucous tissue. Also enlargement of heart, hypertension and beri-beri. Neuritis is another deficiency effect.

The various effect of a disturbance of the nerve centers such as forgetfulness or difficulty in thinking are other manifestations of vitamin B-1 deficiency.

Specific vitamin B deficiencies have been found to be associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, delirium, and anxiety.

Low intakes of three B vitamins, folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 are linked with increased of fatal heart disease in both men and women.

People with low blood levels of these B vitamins tend to have high blood levels of the protein related compound homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine seem to enhance blood clot formation and damage to arterial walls, as well as raising the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke as much as fourfold.

Although the B vitamins are not antiaging nutrients per se, they are involved in preventing a variety of aging related problems.
Vitamin B

B Vitamins – Niacin, Pyridoxine and Biotin

B Vitamins – Niacin, Pyridoxine and Biotin
Niacin (nicotinic acid) is one of vitamin B. This compound is part of an enzyme system regulating reduction reactions in the body. It is also a compound that dilates blood vessels. Deficiency of niacin causes pellagra (a disease that causes diarrhea, dermatitis, nervous disorders, and sometimes death). The requirement for niacin is about ten times that for thiamin. Beef, hog and lamb livers are excellent sources of niacin. Other organs and the musculature of these animals are good to fair sources.

Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) is part of the enzyme system that remove CO2 from the acid group (COOH) of certain amino acids and transfers amine groups (NH2) from one compound to another in the body. It is also needed for the utilization of certain amino acids. 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. 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 are goods to excellent source of pyridoxine.

Biotin is reported to be a coenzyme in the synthesis of aspartic acid, which plays a part in a deaminase system and in other processes involving the fixation of carbon dioxide. Deficiency of this compound is unusual, but can be demonstrated by the feeding of raw egg white, which contains the substance, avidin, which ties up biotin. Deficiencies of biotin cause scaling skin, skin lesion and a deterioration of nerve fibers. Due to the production of biotin by microbiological flora of the intestine, the requirement for this compound is not known, Liver is an excellent source of biotin, and peanut, peas, beans, and whole cooked eggs are good sources.
B Vitamins – Niacin, Pyridoxine and Biotin