Forms of vitamin

Vitamin E, also called tocopherol, is a lipid-soluble antioxidant. Within animal tissues, it is located in the plasmalemma and subcellular membranes. Muscle foods are generally a poor source of vitamin E (Piironen et al., 1985) while nuts, cereal grains and plant oils contain significant quantities of this nutrient (Harris et al., 1950). 

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An example of a biologically important aide hyde is pyridoxal phosphate which is the active form of vitamin Bg and a coenzyme for many of the reac tions of a ammo acids In these reactions the ammo acid binds to the coenzyme by reacting with it to form an imine of the kind shown in the equation Re actions then take place at the ammo acid portion of the imine modifying the ammo acid In the last step enzyme catalyzed hydrolysis cleaves the imme to pyridoxal and the modified ammo acid... 

Pyridine is also sold as a 1° grade, which means that the boiling poiat range of 98% of the sample will fall ia a 1°C range which iacludes the normal boiling poiat of (1) (115.3 0.1°C). Niacia (27) and niacinamide (26), equivalent forms of vitamin B, are generally sold under a US. Pharmacopeia (USP) specification (78). They are also sold as a feed-grade supplement (see Vitamins). 

The total antioxidant activity of teas and tea polyphenols in aqueous phase oxidation reactions has been deterrnined using an assay based on oxidation of 2,2 -azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-sulfonate) (ABTS) by peroxyl radicals (114—117). Black and green tea extracts (2500 ppm) were found to be 8—12 times more effective antioxidants than a 1-mAf solution of the water-soluble form of vitamin E, Trolox. The most potent antioxidants of the tea flavonoids were found to be epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate. A 1-mAf solution of these flavanols were found respectively to be 4.9 and 4.8 times more potent than a 1-mAf solution of Trolox in scavenging an ABT radical cation. 

Salts and Derivatives. Generally the vitamers are high melting crystalline soHds that are very soluble in water and insoluble in most other solvents. Properties of the common forms are Hsted in Table 1. The only commercially important form of vitamin B is pytidoxine hydrochloride (7). This odorless crystalline soHd is composed of colorless platelets melting at 204—206°C (with decomposition). In bulk, it appears white and has a density of - 0.4 kg/L. It is very soluble in water (ca 0.22 kg/L at 20°C), soluble in propylene glycol, slightly soluble in acetone and alcohol (ca 0.014 kg/L), and insoluble in most lipophilic solvents. A 10% water solution shows a pH of 3.2. Both the hydrochloride and corresponding free base sublime without decomposition (16). 

Many carotenoids function in humans as vitamin A precursors however, not all carotenoids have provitamin A activity (Table 3). Of the biologically active carotenoids, -carotene has the greatest activity. Despite the fact that theoretically one molecule of -carotene is a biological source of two molecules of vitamin A, this relationship is not observed and 6 p.g -carotene is equivalent to 1 p. vitamin A. Although -carotene and vitamin A have complementary activities, they caimot totally replace each other. Because the conversion of -carotene to vitamin A is highly regulated, toxic quantities of vitamin A cannot accumulate and -carotene can be considered as a safe form of vitamin A (8). 

It is recognized that there are several important forms of vitamin The active coenzyme forms are adenosylcobalamin [13870-90-1] (coenzyme... 

Methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin are the two coen2yme forms of vitamin B 2 in animals and humans. Each is involved in the catalysis of a specific... 

Specifications. Cyanocobalamin is the commercial form of vitamin It is sold under the following tradenames (35) ... 

Preferably, high pressure Hquid chromatography (hplc) is used to separate the active pre- and cis-isomers of vitamin D from other isomers and allows their analysis by comparison with the chromatograph of a sample of pure reference i j -vitainin D, which is equiUbrated to a mixture of pre- and cis-isomers (82,84,85). This method is more sensitive and provides information on isomer distribution as well as the active pre- and cis-isomer content of a vitamin D sample. It is appHcable to most forms of vitamin D, including the more dilute formulations, ie, multivitamin preparations containing at least 1 lU/g (AOAC Methods 979.24 980.26 981.17 982.29 985.27) (82). The practical problem of isolation of the vitamin material from interfering and extraneous components is the limiting factor in the assay of low level formulations. 

Vegetable oils, typically soybean, are important feedstocks for the commercial production of the RRR forms of vitamin E. 

World production ia the late 1990s of both natural and synthetic forms of vitamin E is estimated at 22,000 metric tons and growth is expected to keep pace with increasing need. The 1993 U.S. production was 14,096 metric tons (47) with an additional 1080 metric tons from imports. The principal U.S. producers of the natural form are Eastman Chemical Company, Archer Daniels Midland Company, and Henkel, and of synthetic vitamin E, Hoffmaim-La Roche and BASE. International producers include Hoffmaim-La Roche, BASE, Eisai, and Rhc ne-Poulenc. 

Vitamin K compounds ate yellow solids or viscous liquids. The natural form of vitamin is a single diastereoisomer with 2 (E), 7 (R), ll (R) stereochemistry. The predominant commercial form of vitamin is the racemate and a 2 (E)j (Z) mixture. Table 1 fists some physical and spectral properties of vitamin K. ... 

Although the predominant commercial form of vitamin is the racemate, natural (2 (E), 7 (R), 1 h(R))—vitamin is accessible either from a... 

The total market for vitamin is relatively small and the principal producer of vitamin is Hoffmaim-La Roche. Nisshin Flour Milling Company is the predorninant manufacturer for the optically active form of vitamin K. Total world market for vitamin is 1500 t with Vanetta Company as the dorninant... 

Work in the mid-1970s demonstrated that the vitamin K-dependent step in prothrombin synthesis was the conversion of glutamyl residues to y-carboxyglutamyl residues. Subsequent studies more cleady defined the role of vitamin K in this conversion and have led to the current theory that the vitamin K-dependent carboxylation reaction is essentially a two-step process which first involves generation of a carbanion at the y-position of the glutamyl (Gla) residue. This event is coupled with the epoxidation of the reduced form of vitamin K and in a subsequent step, the carbanion is carboxylated (77—80). Studies have provided thermochemical confirmation for the mechanism of vitamin K and have shown the oxidation of vitamin KH2 (15) can produce a base of sufficient strength to deprotonate the y-position of the glutamate (81—83). 

FIGURE 18.17 Thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), the active form of vitamin is formed by the action of TPP-synthetase. 

The biologically active form of vitamin Bg is pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PEP), a coenzyme that exists under physiological conditions in two tautomeric forms (Figure 18.25). PLP participates in the catalysis of a wide variety of reactions involving amino acids, including transaminations, a- and /3-decarboxylations, /3- and ") eliminations, racemizations, and aldol reactions (Figure 18.26). Note that these reactions include cleavage of any of the bonds to the amino acid alpha carbon, as well as several bonds in the side chain. The remarkably versatile chemistry of PLP is due to its ability to... 

FIGURE 18.28 The structure of cyanocobalamin (top) and simplified structures showing several coenzyme forms of vitamin Bi2- The Co—C bond of 5 -deoxyadenosylcobalamin is predominantly covalent (note the short bond length of 0.205 nm) but with some ionic character. Note that the convention of writing the cobalt atom as Co" " attributes the electrons of the Co—C and Co—N bonds to carbon and nitrogen, respectively. 

FIGURE 18.37 (a) Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is produced in the skin by the action of sunlight on 7-dehydrocholesterol. The successive action of mixed-function oxidases in the liver and kidney produces 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D. 

Another approach to safer stabilization is to use a biological antioxidant such as vitamin E (a-tocopherol is the active form of vitamin E, AO-9, Table la). It is essentially a hindered phenol which acts as an effective chain breaking donor antioxidant, donating a hydrogen to ROO to yield a very stable tocopheroxyl radical, a-Tocopherol is a very effective melt stabilizer in polyolefins that offers high protection to the polymer at very low concentration [41], (Table 2). 

In general, pyridoxamine and pyridoxin are more stable than pyridoxal. All vitamers are relatively heat-stable in acid media, but heat labile in alkaline media. All forms of vitamin B6 are destroyed by UV light in both neutral and alkaline solution. The majority of vitamin B6 in the human body is stored in the form of pyridoxal phosphate in the muscle, bound to glycogen phos-phorylase. 

Plants contain to some extent less bioavailable forms of vitamin B6, e.g., glycosylates, or biologically inactive metabolites, e.g., e-pyridoxin-lysin-complexes. In addition, the release of vitamin B6 from foods rich in fiber is assumed to be delayed. The bioavailability of vitamin B6 from animal-derived foods is therefore overall higher than from plant-derived foods. Good dietary sources of vitamin B6 include chicken, fish, pork, beans, and pulses [1]. 

The term vitamin E describes a family of eight antioxidants, four tocopherols, alpha (a), beta ((3), gamma (y) and delta (8), and four tocotrienols (also a, (3, y, and 8). a-Tocopherol is present in nature in only one form, RRR a-tocopherol. The chemical synthesis of a-tocopherol results in eight different forms (SRR, SSR, SRS, SSS, RSR, RRS, RSS, RRR), only one of which is RRR a-tocopherol. These forms differ in that they can be right (R) or left (S) at three different places in the a-tocopherol molecule. RRR a-tocopherol is the only form of vitamin E that is actively maintained in the human body and is therefore the form of vitamin E found in the largest quantities in the blood and tissue. A protein synthesized in the liver (a-TTP alpha-tocopherol transfer protein) preferentially selects the natural form of vitamin E (RRR a-tocopherol) for distribution to the tissues. However, the mechanisms for the regulation of vitamin E in tissues are not known... 

In bone, three proteins have been described which are vitamin K-dependent, osteocalcin (bone Gla protein), matrix Gla protein (MGP), and protein S. Osteocalcin is synthetized by osteoclasts, regulated by the active form of vitamin D, calcitriol. Its capacity to bind calcium needs a vitamin K-dependent y-carboxylation of three glutamic acid residues. The calcium binding capacity of osteocalcin indicates a possible role in bone mineralization, but its exact function is still unclear. However, it is widely used as a serum marker for bone mineralization. Protein S, mainly a coagulant, is also vitamin-K dependent and synthesized in the liver. Children with... 

Phylloquinone (vitamin Kl) is the form of vitamin K synthetized by mainly green leafy vegetables and such also appears in plant oils (soybean, cottonseed, canola, olive). Both are good sources for a daily supply, although the need of such a supply is still under discussion. Table 1 shows some good sources and their content of vitamin Kl. 

B. Take the oral form of vitamin B12 when you begin to feel weak or experience a headache... 

A form of vitamin B12 can produce methyl carbanion, a reactive species that is responsible for methylation of Hg (see Figure 8.2, Craig 1986, and IAEA Technical Report 137). Methyl carbanion acts as a nucleophilic agent toward Hg ions. 

Vitamin Bg and related compoimds (Figure 10.2) were quantitatively separated by preparative TLC on silica gel H. After elution, the pyridoxic acid lactone method was employed for fluorimetric determination of the concentration of the vitamin forms involved [8]. Table 10.2 shows Revalues obtained for various forms of vitamin Bg, using several solvent systems. The solvent selected, ethyl acetate/pyridine/water (2 1 2, v/v), gave excellent separation of pyridoxamine, pyridoxic acid, and pyri-doxine together with pyridoxal. 

The ITIES with an adsorbed monolayer of surfactant has been studied as a model system of the interface between microphases in a bicontinuous microemulsion [39]. This latter system has important applications in electrochemical synthesis and catalysis [88-92]. Quantitative measurements of the kinetics of electrochemical processes in microemulsions are difficult to perform directly, due to uncertainties in the area over which the organic and aqueous reactants contact. The SECM feedback mode allowed the rate of catalytic reduction of tra 5-l,2-dibromocyclohexane in benzonitrile by the Co(I) form of vitamin B12, generated electrochemically in an aqueous phase to be measured as a function of interfacial potential drop and adsorbed surfactants [39]. It was found that the reaction at the ITIES could not be interpreted as a simple second-order process. In the absence of surfactant at the ITIES the overall rate of the interfacial reaction was virtually independent of the potential drop across the interface and a similar rate constant was obtained when a cationic surfactant (didodecyldimethylammonium bromide) was adsorbed at the ITIES. In contrast a threefold decrease in the rate constant was observed when an anionic surfactant (dihexadecyl phosphate) was used. 

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