ABSTRACT
The vitamins are small molecules serving essential functions in metabolism. The vitamers A were followed by the B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamins D, E, and K. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are the fat-soluble vitamins. Because of its lipophilicity, vitamin E like the other fat-soluble vitamins is absorbed via the formation of chylomicrons and their uptake by the lymphatic system. The fat-soluble vitamins A and D can be toxic if consumed in excess over a period of time. Light blindness is a symptom of vitamin A deficiency; rickets is symptomatic of vitamin D deficiency; infertility results from vitamin E deficiency; and slow clotting times are characteristic of vitamin K deficiency. In India, it was recognized that inadequate diets were related to night blindness, and in France, that diets consisting of sugar, starch, olive oil, and wheat gluten fed to animals resulted in ulcerated corneas.
