Vitamins

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Vitamins

• Organic compounds necessary for normal
  physiologic function. Most cannot be synthesized
  in the body and must be present in the diet.

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There are two categories of Vitamins

1. Fat soluble (A, D, E, and K)
2. Water soluble (B complex vitamins and vitamin C)

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1. Fat Soluble Vitamins(A, D, E, K)

• Require bile salts and fat clusters for
  absorption through the wall of the duodenum and
  ileum.
• Are stored in lipid deposits in all tissues and
  are therefore required in smaller daily doses.
• Over supplementation may lead to toxic
  syndromes. More is not better and will not
  improve performance.

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Vitamin A, D, E K Sources

• A Cod liver oil, milk, liver, egg yolk
• D Liver, some fish, egg yolk, sunlight
• E Wheat germ, corn and soybean oils
• K Green leafy plants, liver, some fish meals

This information is not in your book.
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Vitamin A

• Plant sources have carotenoids (provitamin A)
• Dogs can convert this to the active form needed.
• Cats do not have the enzymes necessary to convert
  this to the active form. (another reason cats
  should not be fed vegetarian diets)

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Vitamin D

• Dogs and cats cannot use sunlight to convert
  provitamin D to the active form.
• The active form of vitamin D is a hormone that
  works with calcitonin (parathyroid hormone),
  calcium, and phosphorus.

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Vitamin E

• Main function is an antioxidant.
• This makes it useful as a preservative in pet
  food.
• Pansteatitis

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Antioxidants

• Antioxidants function by stabilizing free radical
  molecules, which otherwise would have destructive
  interactions with surrounding tissues. They help
  to restore damaged tissues.

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Vitamins C and E are Antioxidants

• These vitamins help free the body of the damaging
  effects of free radicals.
• Supplementation of these vitamins above the
  normal daily requirements can therefore be
  beneficial to the animal. In this case more means
  better. But dont go vitamin crazy.

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Vitamin K

• Can be absorbed from dietary sources or
  synthesized by microbes in the large intestines
  of dogs and cats

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Vitamin K Deficiency

• Vitamin K plays a critical role in blood clotting
  formation!
• This means that deficiencies hemorrhage
  (bleeding to death)
• Warfarin is a rodent poison that when ingested by
  cats from eating a rat or mouse, causes fatal
  hemorrhage if emergency supplementation of
  vitamin K is not administered.

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2. Water Soluble Vitamins(B complex vitamins and
vitamin C)

• Are poorly stored in the body
• Excesses are lost via the urinary tract
• Frequent intake is critical
• Depleted faster, so that toxic effects are less
  likely to occur than deficiencies

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Vitamin CAscorbic Acid

• An important water soluble vitamin, but is not
  necessary in the diet of dogs and cats as
  metabolism of glucose produces adequate amounts
• Serves as an antioxidant