Trivial name 5 Vitamin

The common name vitamin D is used throughout the pharmaceutical kidustry for simplicity. The trivial name calciferol has also been used extensively with the prefix ergo- and chole-, which kidicate vitamin D2 (2) and vitamin (4), respectively (see Steroids). Vitamin D2 was originally named calciferol in 1931 by Angus and co-wotkets (2). Historically, a number of substances were referred to as vitamin D and were distinguished from one another by a subscript numeral, eg, vitamin D2, vitamin D, etc. 

In 1981, the lUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature proposed that there be a set of trivial names for the important vitamin D compounds, including calciol [67-97-0] for vitaminD, calcidiol [19356-17-3] ion 25-hydroxy-vitaminD, and calcitriol [32222-06-3] ion 1 a,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D. This nomenclature has met with varying degrees of acceptance, as has the proposal to use calcine [69662-75-5] (deoxy-vitamin D2) and ercalcine [68323-40-0] (deoxy-vitamin D ) to name the triene hydrocarbon stmcture for 9,10-j (9-cholesta-5,7,10(19)-ttiene and... 

Oxidation of nicotine with chromic acid led to the isolation of pyridine-3-carboxylic acid, which was given the trivial name nicotinic acid. We now find that nicotinic acid derivatives, especially nicotinamide, are biochemically important. Nicotinic acid (niacin) is termed vitamin B3, though nicotinamide is also included under the umbrella term vitamin B3 and is the preferred material for dietary supplements. It is common practice to enrich many foodstuffs, including bread, flour, corn, and rice products. Deficiency in nicotinamide leads to pellagra, which manifests itself in diarrhoea, dermatitis, and dementia. 

Individual functional groups attached to a partially or fully reduced pyran ring behave much as expected of their aliphatic equivalents but there is often a quantitative difference in their reactivity which enables selective reactions to be carried out on polysubstituted compounds. Many examples of this are known in the tocopherol series which are the most important members of the chroman family. Since they are known by trivial names, these are shown with their structures (674). The most important tocopherol is natural vitamin E or a-tocopherol the four natural tocopherols have 7 -configuration at each of their asymmetric centres at C-2, C-4 and C-8. ... 

Ideally, every organic substance should have a completely descriptive, systematic name to permit only one structural formula to be written for it. This ideal has been approached closely in some of the current nomenclature systems but, unfortunately, truly systematic nomenclature for very complicated compounds is often hopeless for conversational or routine scripto-rial purposes. As a result, we will at times resort to using (common) trivial names, especially if it is impractical to do otherwise. Clearly, the description 9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-l-cyclohexenyl)-3,7-dimethyl-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-J-ol has phonetic disadvantages as a handy name for vitamin A ... 

Trivial name Semisystematic name Type Vitamin A activity (%)a... 

It must be noted at this point that, when Szent-Gyorgyi initially isolated 1, he unfortunately called it hexuronic acid. In early 1933, he and Haworth39 proposed that the name be changed to ascorbic acid. In 1965, the trivial name L-ascorbic acid was recognized by the IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature40 as an acceptable name for vitamin C. The systematic name for L-ascorbic acid is L-threo-hex-2-enono-l,4-lactone. In the past, scorbutamin, redoxon, vitamin C, cevitamic acid, and hexuronic acid have been used as names for 1. Throughout this article, the trivial name L-ascorbic acid will be used for 1. 

Vitamins. The vitamins are natural organic compounds of considerable diversity that occur widely. The name derives from the Latin vita (life) and amin, a shortened form of amine. The name reflects the historical discovery of these substances, not all of which are amines. They are all of relatively low molecular weight, especially compared to peptides but in a range comparable to steroids. These substances are uniformly active and play various roles in biosynthesis and metabolism. The vitamins are too numerous to detail here but the most common examples are illustrated. They are classed using the common system, that is, water or fat soluble, depending on their approximate level of hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity. Their names are typically nonsystematic but the diversity of their structures requires that the trivial names be used. 

Al. Anonymous, Nomenclature policy Generic descriptors and trivial names for vitamins and related compounds. /. Nutr. 106, 8-14 (1976). 

In addition to systematic chemical nomenclature, the vitamins have an apparently illogical system of accepted trivial names arising from the history of their discovery (Table 1.1). For several vitamins, a number of chemically related compounds show the same biological activity, because they are either converted to the same final active metabolite or have sufficient structural similarity to have the same activity. 

Vitamin A is a family of fat-soluble vitamins, of which retinol is the most active form. Beta-carotene is a provitamin carotenoid that is converted to retinol more efficiently than other provitamin carotenoids. Other provitamin carotenoids include alpha-carotene and (trivial names) b-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin they are widely available in foods. 

The skeleton of vitamin 8,2 (i.e., the porphyrin nucleus minus C-20) is called corrin. The compound containing the corrin nucleus is edled a corrinoid. The compound containing the cobalt atom and the standard side chains in the free acid form is called cobyrinic acid, but cobyric acid when the side chains are at positions a, b, c, d, e, g, are in the amide form. Cobyrinic acid substituted with D-l-amino-2-propanol at position f is called cobinic acid. The substituted cobyric acid is called cobinamide. Cobinic acid substituted with d ribofuranose-3-phosphate at position 2 of the aminopropanol is called cobamic acid the substituted cobinamide is called cobamide. Many 8,2 vitamins and derivatives in which the heterocyclic base is 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole are given the trivial name cobalamin see D. Dolphin, ed., 8,2, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1982. 

A similar system of nomenclature will be used as in the earlier article. Approaches to the further systematization of trivial names have been reviewed elsewhere, and the numbering system of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (lUPAC) is slowly gaining ground. The Fischer system is used where necessary in this article in referring to porphyrins to preserve continuity with the earlier article and with the enormous volume of the earlier literature on porphyrins however, the lUPAC systemwill be used as before for vitamin Bi2 and corrinoid compounds because of its clear advantages in this field. 

The terms used above for the substances that are actually considered as vitamins are trivial names, mostly group names, used for more than one derivative of a compound with similar biological activity. The function of vitamins in cell metabolism is just as varied as their chemical constitution. By virtue of their lipid solubility, fat-soluble vitamins generally affect physicochemical properties in various cell membranes. Furthermore, they act at the gene level as inductors of protein biosynthesis and as redox agents. The water-soluble vitamins act in many ways as coenzymes and thus enable the catalytic function of hundreds of enzymes. 

Lack or deficiency of a V., as a result of unbalanced nutrition, leads to charaeteristic metabolic disturbances. Complete absenee of a V. leads to avitaminosis, with typical clinical symptoms. Relative deficiency of a V. causes hypovitaminosis. Such conditions are reversible by administration of the appropriate V. Excessive intake of certain V, e.g. V.A or V.D, can lead to hypervitaminosis. Formerly, V. were named after the diseases they cured, e.g. antiscorbutic V., antirachitic V, antiberiberi factor. Not all V., however, have such a pronounced specificity, and the clinical pictures of many avitaminoses and hypovitaminoses are complex and variable. A nomenclature based on letters of the alphabet was developed simultaneously the designations A, B, C, D and E were applied in the historical order of discovery. Subscripts were applied as more refined chemical analysis revealed that the originally isolated substances were in fact complex mixtures. This was especially true for the B vitamins. Partly because of confusion over the B complex , trivial names which give an indication of the chemical structure of the V. (e.g. pyridoxine or pyiidoxol for V.B() are now preferred. 

Nomenclature of Vitamins, Coenzymes and Related Compounds Trivial Names of Miscellaneous Ck)mpounds of Importance in Biochemistry, Nomenclature of (Quinones with Isoprenoid Side CSiains, Nomenclature and Symbols for Folic Acid and Related Compounds, Nomenclature of Corrinoicls [see Eur. J. Biochem. 2 (1967) 1]. 

Wolf G (1996) A history of vitamin A and retinoids. FASEB J 10 1102-1107 Hicks RJ (1867) Night blindness in the Confederate army. Richmond Med J 3 34-38 Moore T (1957) Vitamin A. Part I. Historical introduction. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 3-29 American Institute of Nutrition (1990) Nomenclature policy generic descriptors and trivial names for vitamins and related compounds. J Nutr 120 12-19... 

The name pyridoxine (PN) is a trivial designation of one vitamin Bg component in which the substituent is an hydroxymethyl [3-hydroxy-4,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpyridine]. The biologically active analogues are... 

Commonly used and recommended trivial and systematic names of key vitamins D and related steroids are listed in Table 5.3. 

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