Sources, functions and deficiency symptoms of various vitamins.

 

Sources, Functions and Deficiency Symptoms of Various Vitamins

Vitamins	Sources	Functions	Deficiency/Symptoms
Vitamin A (retinol)	Fish meal, grasses, yellow maize	Proper eyesight (or vision); epithelial cell formation; aids reproduction	Night blindness
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)	Grasses, vegetables and fruits	Formation of connective tissues, bone and dentine	Scurvy
Vitamin D (Calciferol)	Bone meal, fish meal and sunlight	Aids bone and teeth formation, egg shell formation	Rickets, osteomalacia, soft shell egg
Vitamin E (Tocosterol)	Vegetables, grasses, synthetic vitamin E	Aids reproduction; acts as an antioxidant	Reproductive failure like sterility and premature abortions
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	Fish meal, vegetables	Aids blood clotting; prothrombin formation	Haemorrhages, i.e. inability of the blood to clot in time
Vitamin B₁ (Thiamine)	Yeast, cereals, green plants	Co-enzyme in energy metabolism	Poor appetite, Beri-beri
Vitamin B₂ (Riboflavin)	Green herbage and milk products	Co-enzyme in protein and fat metabolism	Slow growth, dermatitis
Vitamin B₁₂ (Cobalamine)	Fish meal, milk products	Acts as co-enzyme in several biochemical reactions; red blood cell formation	Pernicious anaemia
Niacin (Nicotinic acid)	Yeast, cereals, grasses	Carbohydrate oxidation	Pellagra (reddish tongue)

TYPES OF RATION/DIET AND THEIR USES

Diet

A diet is defined as the amount of feed regularly given to or consumed by an animal.

Ration

Ration is the total supply of feed given to an animal in a twenty-four-hour period. In other words, ration is the amount of food taken by an animal per day.

Balanced ration

A balanced ration is the feed containing all essential nutrients in the correct quantity and in adequate proportion for animals.

Components of a balanced ration include carbohydrate, protein, fats and oil, minerals, vitamins and water.

Types of ration

There are two types of rations. These are:

(a) Maintenance ration

This is the type of ration given to farm animals just to maintain normal functioning of the body system. In other words, maintenance ration supplies enough nutrients just to enable the animal to carry on the normal body activities without losing or gaining weight.

Examples of maintenance ration include the ration given to ruminant animals like straw, hay during dry season.

(b) Production ration

This is the type of ration given to farm animals to enable them produce. In other words, production ration supplies nutrients above what is required for maintenance in order to make the animal capable of high production, which can be in the form of milk, meat, egg

Example of production ration

, etc.

Categories of farm animals that require production rations include:

1. Lactating animals: For milk production.
2. Weaning animals: For increased growth.
3. Pregnant animals: For maintenance of the foetus.