Description

A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism, either at all or not in sufficient quantities, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. Vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. The term vitamin does not include the three other groups of essential nutrients: minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Some sources list fourteen vitamins, by including choline, but major health organizations list thirteen: vitamin A (as all-trans-retinol, all-trans-retinyl-esters, as well as all-trans-beta-carotene and other provitamin A carotenoids), vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin B9 (folic acid or folate), vitamin B12 (cobalamins), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin D (calciferols), vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), and vitamin K (phylloquinone and menaquinones).

Thiamin / Vitamin B1

component of a coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism; supports normal nerve function.

Riboflavin / Vitamin B2

component of coenzymes required for energy production and lipid, vitamin, mineral, and drug metabolism; antioxidant

Niacin / Nicotinic Acid, Nicotinamide

component of coenzymes used broadly in cellular metabolism, oxidation of fuel molecules, and fatty acid and steroid synthesis.

Vitamin B6 / Pyridoxine, Pyridoxal, Pyridoxamine

component of coenzymes in metabolism of amino acids and other nitrogen-containing compounds; synthesis of hemoglobin, neurotransmitters; regulation of blood glucose levels.

Folic Acid / Folate, Folacin, Pteroylglutamic Acid

component of coenzymes in DNA synthesis, metabolism of amino acids; required for cell division, maturation of red blood cells.

Vitamin B12 / Cobalamin, Cyanocobalamin

cofactor for enzymes in metabolism of amino acids (including folic acid) and fatty acids; required for new cell synthesis, normal blood formation, and neurological function.

Pantothenic Acid 

as component of coenzyme A, essential for metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, and fat; cofactor for elongation of fatty acids.

Biotin

cofactor in carbohydrate, fatty acid, and amino acid metabolism.

Vitamin C / Ascorbic Acid

antioxidant; synthesis of collagen, carnitine, amino acids, and hormones; immune function; enhances absorption of non-heme iron (from plant foods).

Vitamin A / Retinol, Retinal, Retinoic Acid, Beta-Carotene (Plant Version)

normal vision, integrity of epithelial cells (mucous membranes and skin), reproduction, embryonic development, growth, immune response.

Vitamin D / Calciferol, Calatriol (1,25-dihydroxy Vitamin D1 or Vitamin D Hormone), Cholecalciferol (D3; plant version), Ergocalciferol (D2; animal version)

maintenance of blood calcium and phosphorus levels, proper mineralization of bones.

Vitamin E / Alpha-Tocopherol, Tocopherol, Tocotrienol

antioxidant; interruption of free radical chain reactions; protection of polyunsaturated fatty acids, cell membranes.

Vitamin K / Phylloquinone, Menaquinone, Menadione, Naphthoquinone

synthesis of proteins involved in blood coagulation and bone metabolism

a mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. However, the four major structural elements in the human body by weight (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen), are usually not included in lists of major nutrient minerals (nitrogen is considered a "mineral" for plants, as it often is included in fertilizers). These four elements compose about 96% of the weight of the human body, and major minerals (macrominerals) and minor minerals (also called trace elements) compose the remainder. 

Nutrient minerals, being elements, cannot be synthesized biochemically by living organisms. Plants get minerals from soil. Most of the minerals in a human diet come from eating plants and animals or from drinking water. As a group, minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients, the others of which are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. The five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. All of the remaining elements in a human body are called "trace elements". The trace elements that have a specific biochemical function in the human body are sulfur, iron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium.

a bioactive compound occurring as a food component, additive, or product, including vitamins, dietary fiber, herbal extracts, carotenoids, and probiotics: nutraceuticals are said to promote health and well-being, allegedly helping in the prevention and treatment of disease. 

are organic compounds composed mainly of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Your body needs 20 different amino acids to grow and function properly.  Although your body can make nonessential amino acids, it cannot make essential amino acids, so you have to get them from your diet. The best sources of essential amino acids are animal proteins such as meat, eggs, and poultry. However, some plant foods, such as the soy products edamame and tofu, contain all nine essential amino acids. This means they are “complete” sources of protein.

Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. 
They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecules within all life-forms on Earth. Nucleotides are obtained in the diet and are also synthesized from common nutrients by the liver.

Nucleotides also play a central role in metabolism at a fundamental, cellular level. They provide chemical energy—in the form of the nucleoside triphosphates, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), guanosine triphosphate (GTP), cytidine triphosphate (CTP) and uridine triphosphate (UTP)—throughout the cell for the many cellular functions that demand energy, including: amino acid, protein and cell membrane synthesis, moving the cell and cell parts (both internally and intercellularly), cell division, etc. In addition, nucleotides participate in cell signaling (cyclic guanosine monophosphate or cGMP and cyclic adenosine monophosphate or cAMP), and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions (e.g. coenzyme A, FAD, FMN, NAD, and NADP+). 

5-nucleotides are also used in flavour enhancers as food additive to enhance the umami taste, often in the form of a yeast extract.