vitamin deficiency disease

• Vitamins and Chief Functions

  • Thiamin - Part of coenzyme TPP in energy metabolism
  • Riboflavin - Part of coenzymes FAD and FMN in energy metabolism
  • Niacin - Part of coenzymes NAD and NADP in energy metabolism
  • Biotin - Part of coenzyme in energy metabolism
  • Pantothenic acid - Part of coenzyme A in energy metabolism
  • Vitamin B6 - Part of coenzymes used in amino acid and fatty acid metabolism
  • Folate - Activates vitamin B12; helps synthesize DNA for new cell growth
  • Vitamin B12 - Activates folate; helps synthesize DNA for new cell growth; protects nerve cells
  • Vitamin C - Synthesis of collagen, carnitine, hormones, neurotransmitters; antioxidant
• Deficiency Symptoms


  • Beriberi (edema or muscle wasting), anorexia and weight loss, neurological disturbances, muscular weakness, heart enlargement and failure
  • Inflammation of the mouth, skin, and eyelids
  • Pellagra (diarrhea, dermatitis, and dementia)
  • Skin rash, hair loss, neurological disturbances
  • Digestive and neurological disturbances
  • Scaly dermatitis, depression, confusion, convulsions, anemia
  • Anemia, glossitis, neurological disturbances, elevated homocysteine
  • Anemia; nerve damage and paralysis
  • Scurvy (bleeding gums, pinpoint hemorrhages, abnormal bone growth, and joint pain)
• Toxicity Symptoms


  • None reported
  • None reported
  • Niacin flush, liver damage, impaired glucose tolerance
  • None reported
  • None reported
  • Nerve degeneration, skin lesions
  • Masks vitamin B₁₂ deficiency
  • Diarrhea, GI distress
  • None reported
• Food Sources


  • Enriched, fortified, or whole-grain products; pork
  • Milk products; enriched, fortified, or whole-grain products; liver
  • Protein-rich foods
  • Widespread in foods; GI bacteria synthesis
  • Widespread in foods
  • Protein-rich foods
  • Legumes, vegetables, fortified grain products
  • Foods derived from animals
  • Fruits and vegetables
• Folate helps to protect against spina bifida, a neural tube defect characterized by the incomplete closure of the spinal cord and its bony encasement
• The neural tube is the beginning structure of the brain and spinal cord. Any failure of the neural tube to close or to develop normally results in central nervous system disorders such as spina bifida and anencephaly. Successful development of the neural tube depends, in part, on the vitamin folate
• Spina bifida


  • At 4 weeks, the neural tube has yet to close (notice the gap at the top)
  • At 6 weeks, the neural tube (outlined by the delicate red vertebral arteries) has successfully closed
• In the dermatitis of pellagra, the skin darkens and flakes away as if it were sunburned. The protein-deficiency disease kwashiorkor also produces a "flaky paint" dermatitis, but the two are easily distinguished. The dermatitis of pellagra is bilateral and symmetrical and occurs only on those parts of the body exposed to the sun
• Blood cells


  • Normal blood cells. The size, shape, and color of these red blood cells show that they are normal.
  • Blood cells in pernicious anemia (megaloblastic). These megaloblastic blood cells are slightly larger (macrocytic) than normal red blood cells, and their shapes are irregular
• Spina bifida, a common neural tube defect, occurs when the vertebrae of the spine fail to close around the spinal cord, leaving it unprotected
• A healthy tongue has a rough and somewhat bumpy surface. In a B vitamin deficiency, the tongue becomes smooth and swollen due to atrophy of the tissue (glossitis). In a B vitamin deficiency, the corners of the mouth become irritated and inflamed (cheilosis)