Thirteen vitamins are recognized at present. Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, and not their structure. Each vitamin name (the word vitamin followed by a letter) refers to a number of vitamer compounds which all show the same biological activity. For example, vitamin A refers to several different chemicals. Vitamers convert to the active form of the vitamin in the body. They are sometimes inter-convertible to one another as well.
The body does not make these chemicals. They come from other places, usually food. A short term lack of a certain vitamin is usually not a problem, because the body can store vitamins for a short time. Not having a certain vitamin for a longer period of time can lead to different diseases, depending on the vitamin. Probably the best-known of these diseases is scurvy, which results from not having enough Vitamin C. Beriberi and rickets are others.
Today, many drug companies make inexpensive pills that contain various vitamins. They help people avoid those diseases.
Vitamins can be either fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) can be stored in the body, and are used when needed.[3] Water-soluble ones only stay in the body a short time.
Name changes
Currently there are no vitamins F to J. These existed at some time. Today they are no longer seen as vitamins. Some of them were also false leads, and turned out to be something else. Others were renamed as B vitamins. Today, the B vitamins are a whole complex, and not just one vitamin.
The German-speaking scientists who isolated and described vitamin K (in addition to naming it as such) did so because the vitamin is intimately involved in the 'Koagulation' (clotting) of blood following wounding. At the time, most (but not all) of the letters from F through I were already designated, so the use of the letter K was considered quite reasonable.
The following table lists chemicals that had previously been classified as vitamins, as well as the earlier names of vitamins that later became part of the B-complex.
↑Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins; Charles William McLaughlin; Susan Johnson; Maryanna Quon Warner; David LaHart; Jill D. Wright (1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN0-13-981176-1. OCLC32308337.
↑Hardman, J.G.; et al., eds. (2001). Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 992. ISBN0071354697.
↑Plain type indicates Adequate Intakes (A/I). "The AI is believed to cover the needs of all individuals, but a lack of data prevent being able to specify with confidence the percentage of individuals covered by this intake" (see Dietary Reference Intakes: VitaminsArchived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. The National Academies, 2001).