What Are Vitamin-like Substances?

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Video: What Are Vitamin-like Substances?

Video: What Are Vitamin-like Substances?
Video: Vitamin Like Substances 2024, November
What Are Vitamin-like Substances?
What Are Vitamin-like Substances?
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There are substances that are very similar to vitamins, but they are not. We are talking about the so-called pseudovitamins or vitamin-like substances.

What are vitamin-like substances and how do they differ from the vitamins we are used to?

Vitamin-like substances are chemical compounds that have vitamin properties.

However, unlike ordinary vitamins, they are partially formed in the body and are sometimes incorporated into the structure of tissues.

Properties of vitamin-like substances

- Many of them have a complex structure, so they are often used in the form of plant extracts;

Vitamin-like substances
Vitamin-like substances

Photo: 1

- Needed by the body in very small quantities;

- They are harmless and have low toxicity;

- Unlike vitamins, macronutrients and trace elements, the lack of vitamin-like substances does not lead to a pathological disorder of the body.

Vitamin-like substances and their functions

- They are an integral part of metabolism. In their functions they are similar to amino acids as well as fatty acids;

- They enhance the effect of essential vitamins and minerals;

- They have an anabolic effect;

- They are used successfully for therapeutic purposes as adjuncts.

Classification of vitamin-like substances

This type of substance is divided into fat-soluble and water-soluble.

Fat-soluble vitamin-like substances

- vitamin F (essential fatty acids);

- vitamin Q (coenzyme Q, ubiquinone).

Water-soluble vitamin-like substances

- vitamin B4 (choline);

- vitamin B8 (inositol, inositol);

- vitamin B13 (orotic acid);

- vitamin B15 (pangamic acid);

- carnitine (L-carnitine for weight loss);

- para-aminobenzoic acid (vitamin B10, PABA, bacterial growth factor and pigmentation factor);

Vitamin U - pseudovitamins
Vitamin U - pseudovitamins

- vitamin U (S-methylmethionine);

- vitamin N (lipoic acid).

Sources of vitamin-like substances

The main sources of vitamin-like substances are vegetables (cabbage, beets, carrots, parsley, tomatoes), seeds (sesame, sunflower), dairy products (eggs, cottage cheese), liver.

Let's summarize. From this article you learned what are vitamin-like substances, their properties and functions in the body and how they differ from vitamins.

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