Document Detail


Is vitamin D redundant in an aquatic habitat?
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  10360236     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Certain fish are very rich sources of vitamin D as compared to most of the higher vertebrates which have insignificant amounts of this vitamin. Not only the teleosts, which possess a calcified skeleton, but also the elasmobranchs, which lack calcified skeleton, contain extremely high concentrations of this vitamin, leading to the speculation that the function of vitamin D in fish may be different from its known classical functions in terrestrial animals. Interestingly, the two most common calcemic hormones associated with Ca and P homeostasis in higher vertebrates are either missing [parathyroid hormone (PTH)] or inactive [calcitonin (CT)] in fish. In fact, these hormones appear to have developed after transition of life from water (Ca-P rich environment) to land (environment poor in Ca and P). Thus, living in an aquatic environment with a continuous rich supply of Ca and P, do fish need vitamin D? If so, does it need to be converted to its polar forms? Additionally what are the functions of vitamin D and its metabolites in fish? Since fish stand between the invertebrates and higher vertebrates in evolution, they serve as a unique model for the study of the evolutionary and physiological significance of vitamin D. Investigations have demonstrated that the source of a high amount of vitamin D in them is primarily through their food-chain (plankton). In addition, it appears from the studies in fish that vitamin D perhaps had no physiological function in the calcium-rich aquatic environment, and its metabolism was essentially for catabolic purposes. During the course of evolution, when life started on calcium poor terrestrial environment, vitamin D became functional and its metabolism, an anabolic one, was concerned with calcium homeostasis.
Authors:
D S Rao; N Raghuramulu
Related Documents :
3030826 - Photosynthesis of vitamin d in the skin: effect of environmental and life-style variables.
8399096 - Haemoglobin, ferritin, and iron intakes in british children aged 12-14 years: a prelimi...
16819896 - Disposable sensor for measurement of vitamin b(2) in nutritional premix, cereal, and mi...
2019456 - Dietary and serum carotenoids and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
212326 - Foodborne hazards of microbial origin.
9575026 - Phenotypic identification of aeromonas genomospecies from clinical and environmental so...
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology     Volume:  45     ISSN:  0301-4800     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol.     Publication Date:  1999 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1999-07-28     Completed Date:  1999-07-28     Revised Date:  2005-11-16    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0402640     Medline TA:  J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo)     Country:  JAPAN    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1-8     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Bone and Bones / metabolism
Calcium / metabolism
Evolution
Fishes / physiology*
Homeostasis
Vitamin D / physiology*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
1406-16-2/Vitamin D; 7440-70-2/Calcium

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  The beta enolase subunit displays three different patterns of microheterogeneity in human striated m...
Next Document:  Vitamin D3 and its metabolites have no role in calcium and phosphorus metabolism in Tilapia mossambi...