The fourth edition of this bestselling text will again provide the latest coverage of the biochemistry and physiology of vitamins and vitamin-like substances. Extensively revised and expanded on the basis of recent research findings with enlarged coverage of health effects of vitamin-like factors, it is ideally suited for students and an important reference for anyone interested in nutrition, food science, animal science or endocrinology. It contains a cohesive and well-organized presentation of each of the vitamins, as well as the history of their discoveries and current information about their roles in nutrition and health.

Part I. Perspectives on the Vitamins in Nutrition -- 1. What is a Vitamin? -- a. Thinking about Vitamins -- b. Vitamin: a Revolutionary Concept -- c. A Operating Definition of a Vitamin -- d. The Recognized Vitamins -- e. Study Questions and Exercises -- 2. Discovery of the Vitamins -- a. The Emergence of Nutrition as a Science -- b. The Process of Discovery in Nutritional Science -- c. The Empirical Phase of Vitamin Discovery -- d. The Experimental Phase of Vitamin Discovery -- e. The Vitamine Theory -- f. Elucidation of the Vitamins -- g. Vitamin Terminology -- h. Other factors Sometimes Called Vitamins -- i. The Modern History of the Vitamins -- j. The Impact of the "Omics" Revolution in Biology -- k. Study questions and Exercises -- l. Recommended Reading -- 3. Chemical and Physiological Properties of Vitamins -- a. Chemical and Physical Properties of Vitamins -- b. Vitamin A -- c. Vitamin D -- d. Vitamin E -- e. Vitamin K -- f. Vitamin C -- g. Thiamin -- h. Riboflavin -- i. Niacin -- j. Vitamin B6 -- k. Biotin -- l. Pantothenic Acid -- m. Folate -- n. Vitamin B12 -- o. General Properties of Vitamins -- p. Physiological Properties of Vitamins -- q. Metabolism of Vitamins -- r. Study Questions and Exercises -- s. Recommended Reading -- 4. Vitamin Deficiency -- a. The Concept of Vitamin Deficiency -- b. The Many Causes of Vitamin Deficiency -- c. Clinical Manifestations of Vitamin Deficiencies -- d. Vitamin Deficiency Diseases: Manifestations of Biochemical Lesions -- e. Subclinical Vitamin Deficiency -- f. Study Questions and Exercises -- g. Recommended Reading -- Part II. Considering the Individual Vitamins -- 5. Vitamin A -- a. Significance of Vitamin A -- b. Sources of Vitamin A -- c. Absorption of Vitamin A -- d. Transport of Vitamin A -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin A -- f. Excretion of Vitamin A -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin A -- h. Vitamin A Deficiency -- i. Vitamin A Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 6. Vitamin D -- a. Significance of Vitamin D -- b. Sources of Vitamin D -- c. Absorption of Vitamin D -- d. Transport of Vitamin D -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin D -- f. Excretion of Vitamin D -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin D -- h. Vitamin D Deficiency -- i. Vitamin D Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 7. Vitamin E -- a. Significance of Vitamin E -- b. Sources of Vitamin E -- c. Absorption of Vitamin E -- d. Transport of Vitamin E -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin E -- f. Excretion of Vitamin E -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin E -- h. Vitamin E Deficiency -- i. Vitamin E Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 8. Vitamin K -- a. Significance of Vitamin K -- b. Sources of Vitamin K -- c. Absorption of Vitamin K -- d. Transport of Vitamin K -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin K -- f. Excretion of Vitamin K -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin K -- h. Vitamin K Deficiency -- i. Vitamin K Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 9. Vitamin C -- a. Significance of Vitamin C -- b. Sources of Vitamin C -- c. Absorption of Vitamin C -- d. Transport of Vitamin C -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin C -- f. Excretion of Vitamin C -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin C -- h. Vitamin C Deficiency -- i. Vitamin C Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 10. Thiamin -- a. Significance of Thiamin -- b. Sources of Thiamin -- c. Absorption of Thiamin -- d. Transport of Thiamin -- e. Metabolism of Thiamin -- f. Excretion of Thiamin -- g. Metabolic Functions of Thiamin -- h. Thiamin Deficiency -- i. Thiamin Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 11. Riboflavin -- a. Significance of Riboflavin -- b. Sources of Riboflavin -- c. Absorption of Riboflavin -- d. Transport of Riboflavin -- e. Metabolism of Riboflavin -- f. Excretion of Riboflavin -- g. Metabolic Functions of Riboflavin -- h. Riboflavin Deficiency -- i. Riboflavin Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 12. Niacin -- a. Significance of Niacin -- b. Sources of Niacin -- c. Absorption of Niacin -- d. Transport of Niacin -- e. Metabolism of Niacin -- f. Excretion of Niacin -- g. Metabolic Functions of Niacin -- h. Niacin Deficiency -- i. Pharmacological Uses of Niacin -- j. Niacin Toxicity -- k. Case studies -- l. Case Questions -- m. Study Questions and Exercises -- n. Recommended Reading -- 13. Vitamin B6 -- a. Significance of Vitamin B6 -- b. Sources of Vitamin B6 -- c. Absorption of Vitamin B6 -- d. Transport of Vitamin B6 -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin B6 -- f. Excretion of Vitamin B6 -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin B6 -- h. Vitamin B6 Deficiency -- i. Pharmacological Uses of Vitamin B6 -- j. Vitamin B6 Toxicity -- k. Case studies -- l. Case Questions -- m. Study Questions and Exercises -- n. Recommended Reading -- 14. Biotin -- a. Significance of Biotin -- b. Sources of Biotin -- c. Absorption of Biotin -- d. Transport of Biotin -- e. Metabolism of Biotin -- f. Excretion of Biotin -- g. Metabolic Functions of Biotin -- h. Biotin Deficiency -- i. Biotin Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 15. Pantothenic Acid -- a. Significance of Pantothenic Acid -- b. Sources of Pantothenic Acid -- c. Absorption of Pantothenic Acid -- d. Transport of Pantothenic Acid -- e. Metabolism of Pantothenic Acid -- f. Excretion of Pantothenic Acid -- g. Metabolic Functions of Pantothenic Acid -- h. Pantothenic Acid Deficiency -- i. Pantothenic Acid Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 16. Folate -- a. Significance of Folate -- b. Sources of Folate -- c. Absorption of Folate -- d. Transport of Folate -- e. Metabolism of Folate -- f. Excretion of Folate -- g. Metabolic Functions of Folate -- h. Folate Deficiency -- i. Folate Toxicity -- j. Case studies -- k. Case Questions -- l. Study Questions and Exercises -- m. Recommended Reading -- 17. Vitamin B12 -- a. Significance of Vitamin B12 -- b. Sources of Vitamin B12 -- c. Absorption of Vitamin B12 -- d. Transport of Vitamin B12 -- e. Metabolism of Vitamin B12 -- f. Excretion of Vitamin B12 -- g. Metabolic Functions of Vitamin B12 -- h. Vitamin B12 Deficiency -- i. Pharmacological Uses of Vitamin B12 -- j. Vitamin B12 Toxicity -- k. Case studies -- l. Case Questions -- m. Study Questions and Exercises -- n. Recommended Reading -- 18. Quasi-Vitamins -- a. Is the Vitamin List Complete? -- b. Choline -- c. Carnitine -- d. Myo-Inositol -- e. Pyrrolyquinoline Quinone -- f. Ubiquinones -- g. Orotic Acid -- h. Bioflavonoids -- i. P-Aminobenzoic acid -- j. Lipoic Acid -- k. Inneffective Factors -- l. Unidentified Growth Factors -- m. Study Questions and Exercises -- n. Recommended Reading -- Part III. Using Current Knowledge of the Vitamins -- 19. Sources of Vitamins -- a. Vitamins in Foods -- b. Vitamins in Feedstuffs -- c. Predicting Vitamin Contents -- d. Vitamin Bioavailability -- e. Vitamin Losses -- f. Vitamin Supplementation and Fortification -- g. Vitamin Labeling of Foods -- h. Study Questions and Exercises -- i. Recommended Reading -- 20. Assessing Vitamin Status -- a. General Aspects of Nutritional Assessment -- b. Assessment of Vitamin Status -- c. Vitamin Status of Healthy Populations -- d. Study questions and Exercises -- e. Recommended Reading -- 21. Quantifying Vitamin Needs -- a. Dietary Standards -- b. Determining Vitamin Standards for Vitamins -- c. Factors Affecting Vitamin Needs -- d. Vitamin Allowances for Humans -- e. Vitamin Allowances for Animals -- f. Study Questions and Exercises -- g. Recommended Reading -- 22. Vitamin Safety -- a. Uses of Vitamins Above Allowance Levels -- b. Hazards of Excessive Vitamin Intakes -- c. Signs of Hypervitaminoses -- d. Safe Intakes of Vitamins -- e. Study Questions and Exercises -- f. Recommended Reading -- Appendices -- Appendix A Vitamin Terminology: Past and Present -- Appendix B Original Reports for Case Studies -- Appendix C A Core of Current Vitamin Research Literature -- Appendix D Vitamin Contents of Foods -- Appendix E Vitamin Contents of Feedstuffs - Index.