Revisiting food-sourced vitamins for consumer diet and health needs: a perspective review, from vitamin classification, metabolic functions, absorption, utilization, to balancing nutritional requirements

Abstract

The significant attention gained by food-sourced vitamins has provided insights into numerous current researches; for instance, the potential reversal of epigenetic age using a diet and lifestyle intervention, the balance between food and dietary supplements in the general population, the role of diet and food intake in age-related macular degeneration, and the association of dietary supplement use, nutrient intake and mortality among adults. As relevant literature about food-sourced vitamin increases, continuous synthesis is warranted. To supplement existing information, this perspective review discussed food-sourced vitamins for consumer diet and health needs, scoping from vitamin absorption, metabolic functions, utilization, to balancing nutritional requirements. Relevant literatures were identified through a search of databases like Google Scholar, Web of Science, the Interscience Online Library, ScienceDirect, and PubMed. We demonstrated that vitamins whether from plant- and animal-based sources are prerequisites for the metabolic functions of the human body. The fat- and water-soluble classification of vitamins remains consistent with their respective absorption and dissolution potentials, underpinned by numerous physiological functions. Vitamins, largely absorbed in the small intestine, have their bioavailability dependent on the food composition, its associated interactions, as well as alignment with their metabolic functions, which involves antioxidants, coenzymes, electron acceptor/donor, and hormones. Moreover, vitamin deficiencies, in every form, pose a serious threat to human health. Vitamin toxicities remain rare, but can still occur mainly from supplementation, although it appears much less in water-soluble vitamins of which some excesses get readily removed by the human body, different from the fat-soluble ones that are stored in tissues and organs. Besides discussions of absorption, transport, and cellular uptake of vitamins, this perspective review also included approaches to meeting vitamin requirements and therapeutic strategies against micronutrient deficiency and COVID-19. We have also attempted on how to strike the balance between food-sourced vitamins and dietary supplements.

Relationship between Habitual Intake of Vitamins and New-Onset Prediabetes/Diabetes after Acute Pancreatitis

“…Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) are hydrophobic compounds and, therefore, are insoluble in the aqueous environment of the gastrointestinal tract [ 3 ]. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and adipose tissue and, hence, are very slowly excreted from the body.…”

“…Vitamins and vitamers are essential micronutrients required to maintain metabolic health [ 1 , 2 ]. There are 13 known vitamins and several vitamers required in small quantities for metabolic health (e.g., energy metabolism, antioxidant function, and enzymatic functions) [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. There are two subtypes of vitamins classified by their solubility—fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins.…”

“…Most vitamins (such as vitamins A, C, E, and K, majority of B complex vitamins) are not endogenously synthesised by the body and are predominantly obtained through the diet [ 5 ]. The structural differences between the groups of vitamins influence their method of absorption [ 3 ]. Low intake of vitamin-rich foods or reduced vitamin absorption can cause oxidative stress-driven disorders such as insulin resistance [ 9 , 10 ], β-cell dysfunction [ 11 ], and metabolic syndrome [ 8 , 12 ].…”

Potentials of3Dextrusion‐based printing in resolving food processing challenges: A perspective review

“…Besides rheological properties (storage modulus, yield stress, consistency index, and flow behavior index) associated with 3D food printer parameters (nozzle speed and the layer height and thickness) being key for effective food printability, the food composition/matrix specific to macronutrient constituents can, to a great extent, have some impact on the (food) printing performance (Péreza, Nykvista, Brøggera, Larsena, & Falkeborga, 2019). In mind that food is a complex system with largely varied physical and chemical properties (Ofoedu et al, 2021), approaches to capitalize on the complex nature of food with different nutrients have been of interest, so as to broaden the application range of 3D printing to various novel food products with personalized nutrition (Liu, Bhandari, et al, 2019; Liu, Liang, et al, 2019). Elsewhere, dough (with or without additives) was found among successful food materials for 3D printing due to its rheology, consistency, and solidifying property after printing (Jiang et al, 2019).…”

“…Besides carbohydrate, proteins have been demonstrated to influence the printing performance of 3D‐printed foods. According to Ofoedu et al (2021), proteins are macromolecules consisting of one or more units of amino acids linked together in chains. Generally, most proteins (except for gelatin) cannot be used directly as a raw material for 3D‐food printing unless they are denatured by a compound (for instance, strong base or acid) of through external stress (temperature and mechanical strength) (Jiang et al, 2018).…”