Vitamin

A Vitamin is an organic molecule required by a living organism in minute amounts for normal health. An organism deprived of all sources of a particular vitamin will eventually suffer from disease symptoms specific to the missing vitamin.

Non-human vitamins

Different organisms need different trace organic substances. Most mammals need, with few exceptions, the same vitamins as humans. One notable exception is ascorbic acid; most mammals can synthesize this. The less related a species is to mammals, the more different the organisms' requirements become. For example, some bacteria need adenine. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) was reported as a vitamin for mice in 2003. Housecats require the amino acid taurine, but this is a macronutrient, not a vitamin, just like the essential amino acids for humans are. In general, plants can synthesize all the organic substances they need and therefore, do not require any vitamins.

Related Topics:
Mammals - Ascorbic acid - Mammal - Bacteria - Adenine - Pyrroloquinoline quinone - 2003 - Taurine - Plant

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