Rôle of fats and certain other dietary components in vitamin E deficiency

Vitamins, derived from the Latin word for life, are essential organic substances required in small quantities for optimal growth and overall well-being. Unlike other organic nutrients, vitamins don't act as sources of energy or building materials but rather facilitate these nutrients' utilization by the body. Vitamins are predominantly coenzymes, assisting enzymes in specific chemical actions, like the oxidation of glucose for energy involving B vitamins. Most vitamins are not produced in our...

Fats and lipids are crucial components in the human body. Some lipid-derived compounds, such as fat-soluble vitamins, eicosanoids, lipoproteins, and glycolipids, also play unique roles to support various  biological processes .
Fat-soluble Vitamins
Fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K, are required in minimal quantities, but their deficiencies can lead to severely abnormal physiological conditions. For example, vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness, dry skin, delayed...

The growth and maintenance of bone are regulated by a combination of nutritional factors, including vitamins, such as vitamin A, B12, C, D, and K.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is involved in the process of bone remodeling. Retinoic acid, the active metabolite of Vitamin A, has nuclear receptors in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which are involved in bone remodeling.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 acts as a cofactor during the formation of osteoblast-related proteins, such as osteocalcin. Vitamin B12 plays a role...

Lipids are an essential component of a balanced human diet. Triglycerides, which make up the majority of dietary lipids, are found in both saturated fats—commonly present in meat, dairy products, and certain tropical plants like coconut, and hydrogenated oils such as margarine and baking shortenings (trans fats)—and unsaturated fats, which are abundant in seeds, nuts, olive oil, and most vegetable oils. The main sources of cholesterol include egg yolks, various meats and organ meats, shellfish,...

The skin plays a crucial role in the synthesis of vitamin D, a vital nutrient for various physiological processes in the body. Vitamin D is unique because it can be synthesized in the skin through a series of chemical reactions triggered by exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from sunlight.
The solar UV B rays (290-315 nm) are absorbed by the skin, and 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3) photolyzes it to previtamin D3, which undergoes a rapid transformation to vitamin D3(cholecalciferol).

The energy released from the breakdown of the chemical bonds within nutrients can be stored either through the reduction of electron carriers or in the bonds of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In living systems, a small class of compounds functions as mobile electron carriers, molecules that bind to and shuttle high-energy electrons between compounds in pathways. The principal electron carriers that will be considered originate from the B vitamin group and are derivatives of nucleotides; they are...