Organic micronutrients needed in small amounts, often serving as coenzymes in metabolic reactions.
Water-soluble vitamins (B group, C) are not stored well and are excreted in urine; fat-soluble ones (A, D, E, K) can accumulate. Many B vitamins are the precursors of coenzymes such as NAD (niacin) and FAD (riboflavin).
Deficiency diseases include scurvy (vitamin C, needed for collagen), rickets (vitamin D and calcium) and beriberi (thiamine).
Organic micronutrients needed in small amounts, often serving as coenzymes in metabolic reactions.
Vitamins is one of the 51 topics in Biomolecules & Biochemistry. It is rated Beginner, so it suits learners who are starting out in biology. Related topics in this area include Cofactors and Coenzymes, Minerals in Biology, Triglycerides.
Vitamin K helps form clotting factors, so newborns may be given a dose.
Vitamins is a Beginner topic, so no earlier topic is required. Other Beginner topics in Biomolecules & Biochemistry that pair well with it include Water Properties, Carbon Chemistry, Carbohydrates.
The closest topics to Vitamins are Cofactors and Coenzymes, Minerals in Biology, Triglycerides, Enzymes. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Vitamins. To practise the whole of Biomolecules & Biochemistry, use the Biomolecules & Biochemistry quiz.
Vitamins: Organic micronutrients needed in small amounts, often serving as coenzymes in metabolic reactions. Cofactors and Coenzymes: Non-protein helpers such as metal ions or vitamin-derived molecules that many enzymes require to function. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Cofactors and Coenzymes and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Biomolecules & Biochemistry quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Non-protein helpers such as metal ions or vitamin-derived molecules that many enzymes require to function.
⚗️ Biomolecules & BiochemistryInorganic ions such as calcium, iron and magnesium needed for bones, blood, nerves and enzymes.
⚗️ Biomolecules & BiochemistryFats formed from glycerol joined to three fatty acids, the main long-term energy store in animals.
⚗️ Biomolecules & BiochemistryBiological catalysts, mostly proteins, that speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy.
⚗️ Biomolecules & Biochemistry