Vitamin Analysis

Abstract

Vitamins are defined as relatively low-molecular-weight compounds which humans, and for that matter, any living organism that depends on organic matter as a source of nutrients, require small quantities for normal metabolism. With few exceptions, humans cannot synthesize most vitamins and therefore need to obtain them from food and supplements. Insufficient levels of vitamins result in deficiency diseases [e.g., scurvy and pellagra, which are due to the lack of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and niacin, respectively].