Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Vitamin C cannot be synthesized by man therefore a dietary source is necessary. It acts as a cofactor in numerous biological processes including the hydroxylation of proline to hydroxyproline. In deficiency, the formation of collagen is, therefore, impaired. Ascorbic acid is important in the hydroxylation of dopamine to noradrenaline and in hydroxylations occurring in steroid synthesis in the adrenals. It is a reducing agent in tyrosine metabolism and by acting as an electron donor in the conversion of folic acid to tetrahydrofolic acid is indirectly involved in the synthesis of purine and thymine. Vitamin C is also necessary for the incorporation of iron into ferritin. Vitamin C increases the phagocytic function of leucocytes; it possesses anti-inflammatory activity and it promotes wound healing. Deficiency can produce scurvy. Features include swollen inflamed gums, petechial hemorrhages and subcutaneous bruising. The deficiency of collagen leads to development of thin watery ground substances in which blood vessels are insecurely fixed and readily ruptured. The supportive components of bone and cartilage are also deficient causing bones to fracture easily and teeth to become loose. Anemia commonly occurs probably due to Vitamin C’s role in iron metabolism.  

dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E) Vitamin E deficiency has been linked to disorders such as cystic fibrosis where fat absorption is impaired. It is essential for the normal function of the muscular system and the blood.  

Zinc Sulfate Zinc is a constituent of many enzymes and is, therefore, essential to the body. It is present with insulin in the pancreas. It plays a role in DNA synthesis and cell division. Reported effects of deficiency include delayed puberty and hypogonadal dwarfism.  

Manganese Sulfate Manganese is a constituent of enzyme systems including those involved in lipid synthesis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and purine and pyrimidine metabolism. It is bound to arginase of the liver and activates many enzymes.  

Copper Sulfate Copper is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract and its major route of excretion is in the bile. Traces of copper are essential to the body as constituents of enzyme systems involved in oxidation process.  

Retinol Acetate (Vitamin A) 

Vitamin A plays an important role in the visual process. It is isomerized to the 11-cis isomer and subsequently bound to the opsin to form the photoreceptor for vision under subdued light. One of the earliest symptoms of deficiency is night blindness which may develop into the more serious condition, xerophthalmia. Vitamin A also participates in the formation and maintenance of the integrity of epithelial tissues and mucus membranes.  Folic Acid Folic acid is reduced in the body to tetrahydrofolate which is a co-enzyme for various metabolic processes, including the synthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides and hence in the synthesis of DNA. It is also involved in some amino acid conversion and in the formation and utilization of formate. Deficiency of folic acid leads to megaloblastic anemia.  

Selenium Selenium is an essential trace element, deficiency of which has been reported in man. It is thought to be involved in the functioning of membranes and the synthesis of amino acids.   Deficiency of selenium in the diet of experimental animals produces fatty liver followed by necrosis.