Vitamin E&K Role in maintenance of our body

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VITAMIN E

• The term vitamin E describes a family of eight antioxidants, four tocopherols, alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-, and four tocotrienols (also alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-)

• α-tocopherol is the only form of vitamin E that is actively maintained in the human body and is therefore, the form of vitamin E found in the largest quantities in the blood and tissue

Function

• The main function of α-tocopherol in humans appears to be that of an antioxidant

• Aside from maintaining the integrity of cell membranes throughout the body, α-tocopherol also protects the fats in low density lipoproteins (LDLs) from oxidation

• α-tocopherol is known to inhibit the activity of protein kinase C, an important cell signaling molecule, as well as to affect the expression and activity of immune and inflammatory cells

• Inhibit platelet aggregation and to enhance vasodilation

• Protects tissues against damage

• Promotes normal growth and development

• Helps in normal red blood cell formation

SOURCES

• Pure vegetable oils; wheat germ, whole meal bread and cereals, egg yoke, nuts sunflower seeds

DEFICIENCY

• Severe deficiency results mainly in neurological symptoms, including impaired balance and coordination (ataxia), injury to the sensory nerves (peripheral neuropathy), muscle weakness (myopathy), and damage to the retina of the eye (pigmented retinopathy)

• The developing nervous system appears to be especially vulnerable to vitamin E deficiency because children with severe vitamin E deficiency from birth, who are not treated with vitamin E, develop neurological symptoms rapidly

VITAMIN K

• Two naturally occurring forms of vitamin K

• Plants synthesize phylloquinone or vitamin K1

• Bacteria synthesize a range of vitamin K forms, using repeating 5-carbon units in the side chain of the molecule

• These forms of vitamin K are designated menaquinonen (MK-n), where n stands for the number of 5-carbon units

• MK-n are collectively referred to as vitamin K2

• MK-4 is produced in significant amounts by animals (including humans) from phylloquinone

• MK-4 is found in a number of organs other than the liver at higher concentrations than phylloquinone

Functions

• The major function of the K vitamins is in the maintenance of normal levels of the blood clotting proteins

• Three vitamin-K dependent proteins have been isolated in bone that reflects the importance of this vitamin in the bone mineralization

• Vitamin K-dependent protein has been found throughout the nervous system, as well in the heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys, and cartilage

Bone mineralization

Bone mineralization is the process of laying down minerals on matrix of the bone. Normal bone is composed of 50 to 70% mineral, 20 to 40% organic matrix, 5 to 10% water, and ❤% lipids. Calcium and phosphorus are chief minerals found in the bone along with small amount of carbonate, magnesium

SOURCES

• Leafy green vegetables, liver, milk and yogurt

DEFICIENCY

• Naturally occurring vitamin K is absorbed from the intestines only in the presence of bile salts and other lipids through interaction with chylomicrons (transport dietary lipids from the intestines to other locations in the body)

• Therefore, fat malabsorption diseases can result in vitamin K deficiency

• Since the vitamin K2 form is synthesized by intestinal bacteria, deficiency of the vitamin in adults is rare

Chylomicrons

Chylomicrons (from the Greek chylo, meaning juice or milky fluid, and micron, meaning small particle) are lipoprotein particles that consist of triglycerides (85–92%), phospholipids (6–12%), cholesterol (1–3%), and proteins (1–2%). They transport dietary lipids from the intestines to other locations in the body.