Question
Biology Question on Digestion and absorption
Which one of the following is a fat-soluble vitamin and its related deficiency disease?
Retinol - Xerophthalmia
Cobalamine - Beri-beri
Calciferol - Pellagra
Ascorbic acid - Scurvy.
Retinol - Xerophthalmia
Solution
Retinol (vitamin A) and calciferol are fat soluble vitamins but the pellagra is not the deficient disease of calciferol. Vitamin A cannot be synthesized by mammals and other vertebrates and must be provided in the diet. Green plants contain precursors of the vitamin, notably carotenes, that are converted to vitamin A in the intestinal wall and liver. The aldehyde derivative of vitamin A, retinal, is a constituent of the visual pigment rhodopsin. Deficiency affects the eyes, causing night blindness, xerophthalmia (dryness and thickening of the cornea), and eventually total blindness.