Generally on vitamins

Vitamins is a class of essential nutrients that cannot be synthesized (either at all or in sufficient quantities) by a given organism and must be taken (in trace quantities) with feed for that organism's continued good health. Monogastric animals require that 13 different vitamins are supplemented with the feed. Ruminants kept on stable has especially a need to be supplemented with A, D and E vitamins, although high yielding dairy cows in some circumstances reacts positive on supplementation with other vitamins as well. The term vitamin is not used for other classes of essential nutrients including dietary minerals, essential fatty acids or essential amino acids. Vitamins are divided into fat soluble (Lipophile) and water-soluble (Hydrophile) vitamins.

Names

The name was coined by the Polish biochemist Kazimierz Funk in 1912. Vita in Latin is life and the -amin suffix is short for amine; at the time it was thought that all vitamins were amines. Though this is now known to be incorrect, the name has stuck.

Some vitamin names have become obsolete:

• Vitamin B – actually a complex of several vitamins: B-number, H, and M.
• Vitamin G – another name for riboflavin (vitamin B₂ )

The usage of names in the format "vitamin letter" and "vitamin letter number" is diminishing. This is especially true for vitamins H, M, B₁, B₂, B₃, and B₅, which are usually called by their proper chemical names.

On the other hand, vitamins D and E are still usually called by their symbolic names, and A and K don't even have proper chemical names (since they are mixtures of chemicals).

The names ascorbic acid and vitamin C are used with similar frequency.

Vitamins were first recognised by the diseases that occur from a lack of certain foods; for example, the British Royal Navy's observation that limes were effective in preventing scurvy led to the discovery of vitamin C.

Vitamins can be divided in two groups by their solubility in water:

Water-soluble vitamins

• Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
• Thiamine (vitamin B₁)
• Riboflavin (vitamin B₂)
• Niacin or nicotinic acid or nicotinamide (vitamin B₃) (also called vitamin P or PP for pellagra prevention)
• Pantothenic acid (vitamin B₅)
• Pyridoxine or pyridoxamine or pyridoxal (vitamin B₆)
• Inositol (vitamin B₈)
• PABA (vitamin B₁₀)
• Choline (vitamin B₁₁)
• Cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂)
• Pangamic Acid (vitamin B₁₅
• Biotin (vitamin H)
• Folic acid (vitamin M)

Fat-soluble vitamins

• Retinol and derivatives (vitamin A)
• Calciferol (vitamin D)
• Tocopherol (vitamin E)
• Naphthoquinone and derivatives (vitamin K)

Fat-soluble vitamins may be stored in the body and can cause toxicity when taken in excess. Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body. Unlike feed, water, and—for aerobic organisms—air, an organism can survive for some time without vitamins, although prolonged vitamin deficit results in a disease state.

Need for supplementation

Grazing ruminants have no need for additional vitamins as

1. they are able to convert the high content of carotene in grass and other green crops to Vitamin A;
2. Vitamin D is formed in the skin of animals when the sun shines on it (due to UV-radiation of the skin); and
3. there is a high content of Vitamin E in grass and other green crops.