 Hello, welcome back to the sessions again. Last session we were seeing about the water soluble vitamins. We have spoken about the thiamine, riboflavin and niacin, the effect of their deficiencies and effect of taking excess and food sources and what are their functions. Let us continue with the topic and go to the other B vitamin called as pantothenic acid. So, this pantothenic acid is a very important vitamin where it plays a part of coenzyme A. So, this is essential for again for the metabolism of carbohydrate, fat and protein, but the deficiency is very rare since it is a water soluble vitamin. Whatever the food is taken, if it is optimum the excess is excreted and the level is maintained in the blood and usually in combination with other deficiency the deficiency can occur, but there is no known toxicity about the pantothenic acid. Now, food sources of pantothenic acid it is widely present in meat, mushrooms, peanut, milk, liver and eggs. You can see it is most of the non vegetarian food contains pantothenic acid. Now, adequate intake is only 5 milligrams per day and this will suffice for the functions of pantothenic acid and the daily value almost an average of 10 milligrams and average intake it meets the adequate intake of the vitamin. Now, these are the sources you can see all the green leafy vegetables, cabbage and tomatoes and non vegetarian eggs etc. Now, biotin is another B complex vitamin which is again form. It is found both in free form and bound form and the metabolism for carbohydrate and fat again it requires biotin as an important vitamin and it assists in addition of carbon dioxide to other compounds and synthesis of glucose, fatty acids and DNAs in the presence of biotin and it also helps to break down certain amino acids. So, basically it is again important for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins and deficiency of biotin raw egg white it contains a substance called avidin. So, this avidin in raw egg it binds with the biotin and makes it unavailable to the body. Therefore, the deficiency of biotin is caused when anyone eats raw egg because it contains avidin and it binds biotin and makes it unavailable therefore, deficiency is caused. Now, then the deficiency symptoms that occur are scaly inflamed skin, the tongue is inflamed and there are changes in the lips. Then anorexia or poor appetite nausea and vomiting are the symptoms then it also causes anemia because again it is involved in the protein metabolism and when protein is not there then the hemoglobin also gets disturbed therefore, causes anemia then muscle pain and weakness and there is poor growth. Now, the food sources of biotin where do we get biotin from? So, it is present in cauliflower, the egg yolk, liver, peanuts, cheese then intestinal synthesis also is there for biotin that means the biotin is produced by the intestines and biotin content only is available in small number of foods. So, the limited foods contain biotin and the bioavailability of the synthesized biotin is not very sure because the biotin is synthesized in the large intestine therefore, what is the amount that is getting absorbed is a question mark. So, we are unsure of what the synthesized biotin is available to the body and we excrete more biotin than we consume and adequate amount is only 30 micrograms per day for an adult. So, these are the food sources of biotin. So, we can get in nuts avocado then tomatoes then the badam and eggs, carrot then leafy vegetables etc and the next vitamin is pyridoxin like thiamine, niacin and riboflavin are related to the energy metabolism and the intake depends upon the amount of energy that is taken in. Similarly, pyridoxin is related to the protein metabolism. So, the intake the amount of requirement of pyridoxin is dependent upon the protein intake. Now, this has three compounds pyridoxin and pyridoxamine. So, all these three compounds act as coenzymes in the metabolic reactions. So, activate the enzymes and they are needed for metabolism of carbohydrate, fats and proteins then they synthesize non-essential amino acids via trans-amination. So, that is why when these amino acids are synthesized we do not require them to be given through food. So, if pyridoxin is there there are synthesis of some non-essential amino acids then they synthesize neurotransmitters and synthesize hemoglobin and WPC. Now, other roles of pyridoxin or vitamin B6 is they maintain the level of homocysteine. So, homocysteine is a substance which produces toxic effect on the arterial walls that means it causes atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is nothing but formation of plagues in the intima or walls of the arteries and now metabolized by B6, B12 and folic acid. Now, food sources of vitamin B6 it is well absorbed the meat fish and poultry and potatoes, enriched cereals and milk are very good sources of vitamin B6 and this is but this is less well absorbed and fruits and vegetables like banana, spinach, green leafy vegetable and avocado are also good sources of pyridoxin and but this is heat and alkaline sensitive. So, when there is cooking process there is loss of the pyridoxin. Now, the sources are these. Now, deficiency of pyridoxin it is it gives a widespread symptoms like it causes depression because it is involved in the synthesis of neurotransmitters and the skin disorders, impaired immune system, vomiting and nerve irritation. So, all these are the deficiency symptoms of pyridoxin. So, even if the pyridoxin level is a little lower than the normal the symptoms are mindless in and about the toxicity there is some toxicity caused by pyridoxin like the other B complex vitamin they are excreted they do not cause any toxicity. So, but B6 causes toxicity it causes nerve damage then there is difficulty in walking and numbness in hands and feet all these are because of the nerve damage. So, requirement is only 2 milligrams per day for an adult. So, such small amount of pyridoxin is required for maintenance of the nerves and all and when this is disrupted then the deficiency symptoms occur. Athletes may need more because they require more protein and the requirement of protein is dependent time in both pyridoxin and protein are dependent. Therefore, the pyridoxin requirement also increases and alcohol destroys the vitamin B6. The next vitamin is the folate or folic acid. So, this folic acid also acts as a coenzyme and it is involved mainly in the DNA synthesis and it is important for the anti cancer drug and homocysteine metabolism neurotransmitter formation and folate it can create the DNA and because of this folate plays an extremely important role in preventing the birth defects in the early pregnancy. That means it is a very important vitamin which is important for the formation of myelin sheath in the nervous system. Therefore, when the pregnant woman is deficient of folic acid the myelin sheath is not formed and this spinal cord is it almost comes out of the body which is called as the neural tube defect and this happens in the first 29 days of conception after the woman becomes a pregnant. Then folate also helps to maintain the health of red blood cells because folate is very important for the maturation of RBCs. So, after the RBCs mature they become smaller in size, but during the stages of maturity at one stage the RBC becomes bigger cell which is called a megaloblast and if folic acid is deficient the maturation stops at the megaloblast and these megaloblasts are circulated into the blood. Therefore, it causes anemia by this the number of RBCs will decrease. Therefore, the hemoglobin carrying capacity will decrease. Therefore, anemia is caused because of folic acid deficiency. Then it also causes similar signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency and causes a megaloblastic anemia and in pregnant woman it causes neural tube defects in the newborn. So, this neural tube defects is the important one is the spina bifida. So, as I told you the neural tube it closes by the first 28 days of pregnancy. So, the first initial period of pregnancy is very important and the pregnant woman should be having sufficient amount of folic acid in her body before she starts her pregnancy. Then at this stage there is the formation of brain and spinal cord. So, by the time the pregnancy is confirmed already the damage is done. You can see how the spinal cord is outside the body and the survival of this baby is very difficult. So, the spinal cord it comes out of that is there is no sheath over the spinal cord. So, fluid comes out of the skin. So, this is outside and anytime this can burst and the baby will die. Now, folate and homocysteine the high homocysteine levels in the blood are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Now, foliofoliate deficiency causes homocysteineemia that means it also causes the defect of the homocysteine. Now, RDFR the adults is 200 micrograms per day and for a pregnant woman usually the folate supplementation is given 500 micrograms per day every day for at least 100 days. So, the best recommendation is from the adolescent age if the adolescent girl is given folate supplementations then the folate deficiency is it can be avoided and the healthy motherhood can be carried out. Now, food sources of folate liver is the best source then grains and legumes for breakfast should be fortified with folic acid and all the leafy vegetables are good sources of folic acid. Now, but this is susceptible to heat oxidation and ultraviolet rays that means when the folic acid is exposed to light it is oxidized, when it is heated it is destroyed and when it is exposed to sunlight also folic acid is destroyed and that is why synthetic form is better absorbed. So, folic acid is generally supplemented to the people who are deficient in folic acid. Now, foods high in folate are the fortified bread then you have cereals, rice and then beans, orange juice, spinach all these are very good sources of folic acid. Therefore, the folic acid is very important in maintaining the blood levels of RBCs and maintaining the body without going into a condition of anemia and very important for the neural tube defects in pregnancy. Similarly, we have seen how pyridoxin is important, how pantothenic acid is important. So, all these B vitamins play their own role with the limited amount that they are to be consumed but have a great function in the body. Thank you.