Folic Acid
Overview Folic acid is a member of the water-soluble B vitamin group. Isolated in 1946 from spinach leaves, its name comes from folium, the Latin word for leaf. In the body, folic acid is converted to its biologically active form tetrahydrofolic acid (THFA). Niacin and vitamin C are necessary for this conversion. Structurally, folic acid […]
Threonine
Overview Essential amino acids, such as threonine, are those that are not synthesized in the body so they must be taken in through the diet. Threonine is an important component in the formation of protein, collagen, (1) elastin, and tooth enamel and is found in the central nervous system, skeletal muscles, and the heart. (2) […]
Inositol
Overview Inositol is a compound that has been known for a long time, but in 1940 scientists first realized that it was an essential nutrient. It is a sugar-like substance and is part of the water-soluble B vitamin complex. It is found in the liver, kidney, skeletal and heart muscle. It is also present in […]
Boron
Overview Boron is a trace mineral that has been recognized as an essential nutrient for plants for more than fifty years, but its essentiality in humans was not discovered until the mid-1980s. Since boron is a newly discovered essential nutrient for humans, some of the information about its metabolic activity and function is somewhat speculative. […]
Vitamin D
Overview Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that was isolated in 1930 and named calciferol. Since then more metabolites have been found, and the two major forms of this vitamin are now known to be vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D is actually a hormone precursor, which can be manufactured by the […]
Vitamin B6
Overview Pyridoxine is a water-soluble B vitamin that functions as a cofactor in more than one hundred enzyme reactions. Many of its activities are related to the metabolism of amino acids and other proteins including hemoglobin, serotonin, hormones, and prostaglandins. After entering a cell, vitamin B6 is phosphorylated and converted into its active form, pyridoxal […]
Vitamin B5
Overview Dr. Roger Williams discovered vitamin B5 in 1933 and, since it is present in all cells studied, he named it pantothenic acid from the Greek word panthothen meaning “everywhere.” Pantothenic acid plays a number of essential metabolic roles including the production of some hormones and neurotransmitters, and is involved in the metabolism of all […]
Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE)
Overview Dimethylaminoethanol is a naturally occurring substance that is a precursor to choline. In scientific literature, this compound is referred to as either DMAE or deanol. The results of studies with laboratory animals indicate that administration of DMAE results in elevations of choline in the blood and brain. (1) In theory, this makes DMAE a […]
Vitamin B12
Overview Vitamin B12 was isolated from liver extract in 1948 and reported to control pernicious anemia. Its structure was elucidated in 1955. Chemically, vitamin B12 is a molecule with the formula of C63H90CoN14O14P. Cobalamin is the generic name of vitamin B12 because it contains the heavy metal cobalt, which gives this water-soluble vitamin its red […]
Vitamin C
Overview Vitamin C cures the world’s oldest known nutritional deficiency disease, scurvy. It was first isolated by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi in 1928 from pork adrenal glands and called hexuronic acid. In 1933, its chemical structure was established. It was successfully synthesized, and the name was changed to ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that […]