Table 1.
Major characteristics of the known vitamins
| Vitamin | Recommended daily doses1 | Major dietary sources | Deficiency syndromes | Tolerable daily upper intake levels |
| A | M: 900 μg | Orange, ripe yellow fruits, leafy vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, liver, soy milk, milk, sweet potatoes, butter, egg yolk | Night-blindness | 3000 mcg |
| (Retinol, Carotenoids) | F: 700 μg | Hyperkeratosis, keratomalacia | ||
| B1 (Thiamine) | M: 1.2 mg | Whole grains, dried beans, oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, pork, liver | Beriberi - dry (peripheral neuropathy) or wet (heart failure), Wernicke encephalopathy | ND |
| F: 1.1 mg | ||||
| B2 (Riboflavin) | M: 1.3 mg | Dairy products, bananas, popcorn, green beans, asparagus, dark green leafy vegetables | Rare | ND |
| F: 1.1 mg | Non-specific symptoms | |||
| B3 (Niacin, Nicotinic acid) | M: 16.0 mg | Meat, fish, eggs, mushrooms, tree nuts, peas, bran | Pellagra | 35 mg |
| F: 14.0 mg | ||||
| B5 (Pantothenic acid) | 5.0 mg | Fortified cereals, Salmon, Meat, broccoli, avocados | Paresthesia, “burning feet”, GI symptoms | ND |
| B6 (Pyridoxine) | 1.3-1.7 mg | Meat, liver, tree nuts, bananas, salmon, tuna, brown rice, potatoes | Anemia, peripheral neuropathy, insomnia, seborrheic dermatitis, stomatitis | 100 mg |
| B7 (Biotin) | 30.0 μg | Raw egg yolk, liver, peanuts, certain vegetables | Dermatitis, enteritis | ND |
| B9 (Folic acid) | 400 μg | Spinach, enriched rice, fortified cereal, liver, avocado, lentils | Megaloblastic anemia | 1000 mcg |
| Neural tube defects | ||||
| B12 (Cobolamine) | 2.4 μg | Meat, salmon, egg yolk, lentils, spinach | Megaloblastic/Pernicious anemia | ND |
| C (Ascorbic acid) | M: 90 mg | Citric fruits, papaya, broccoli, strawberries, paprika, liver | Scurvy | 2000 mg |
| F: 75 mg | ||||
| D (Cholecalciferol, Ergocalciferol) | 15 μg | liver, mushrooms, fatty fish, milk, egg yolk, fortified cereals | Rickets and osteomalacia | 100 mcg (4000 IU) |
| (> 70 yr: 20 μg) | 1 cup of milk = 50 IU; 30 min of sunlight = 10000 IU | |||
| E (Tocopherols) | 15.0 mg | Sunflower seeds, almonds, fortified cereals, spinach, turnip greens | Very rare; mild hemolytic anemia, ataxia, neural degeneration | 1000 mg |
| K (phylloquinone, menaquinones) | M: 120 μg | Leafy green vegetables, egg yolks, liver, mustard greens, asparagus, kiwi, dried prunes | Bleeding diathesis | ND |
| F: 90 μg |
1
In adults, not pregnant nor lactating. ND: Not determinable.