ABSTRACT
Water-soluble vitamins are a group of fairly small organic molecules that, for the most part, can be dissolved in water. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science has published the daily dietary recommended intakes and acceptable intakes for the water-soluble vitamins. Significant amounts of the vitamin may be found in the liver, brain, spleen, kidney, and heart, but like the other water-soluble vitamins, there is no appreciable store and this vitamin must be present in the daily diet. The mechanism of absorption by the ileum likely is an active one mediated by the intrinsic factor; however, the details of this mechanism are unknown except for the need for the carriers. The bulk of the work identifying and describing compounds we now know as vitamins occurred in the first part of the 20th century. Historically, ascorbic acid or vitamin C has been recognized as a needed nutrient for centuries.
