Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 3890 |
| Journal | NUTRIENTS |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Dec 2025 |
Abstract
Background: The concept of vitamins has evolved over the past century from compounds preventing classical deficiency diseases to nutrients recognized for supporting long-term health. Despite their central role in science and public health, existing definitions often fail to clearly characterize and distinguish vitamins from other bioactive compounds and do not capture the complexity of their nutritional requirements. Method: This article reviews the historical origins and current definitions of vitamins. Results: We identify the limitations of existing definitions and present a contemporary, physiologically informed definition as a discussion proposal. Our proposal no longer relies solely on the prevention of classical hypo- or avitaminoses. Conclusions: By incorporating the concept of conditional essentiality, this framework also tries to clarify the distinction between classical vitamins and other bioactive substances, reflecting variable dietary requirements under different conditions.
Keywords
- conditional essentiality, contemporary definition, vitamins
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Food Science
- Nursing(all)
- Nutrition and Dietetics
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: NUTRIENTS, Vol. 17, No. 24, 3890, 12.12.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - What Is a Vitamin? Towards a Contemporary Definition
AU - Hahn, Andreas
AU - Eggersdorfer, Manfred
AU - Kerlikowsky, Felix
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 by the authors.
PY - 2025/12/12
Y1 - 2025/12/12
N2 - Background: The concept of vitamins has evolved over the past century from compounds preventing classical deficiency diseases to nutrients recognized for supporting long-term health. Despite their central role in science and public health, existing definitions often fail to clearly characterize and distinguish vitamins from other bioactive compounds and do not capture the complexity of their nutritional requirements. Method: This article reviews the historical origins and current definitions of vitamins. Results: We identify the limitations of existing definitions and present a contemporary, physiologically informed definition as a discussion proposal. Our proposal no longer relies solely on the prevention of classical hypo- or avitaminoses. Conclusions: By incorporating the concept of conditional essentiality, this framework also tries to clarify the distinction between classical vitamins and other bioactive substances, reflecting variable dietary requirements under different conditions.
AB - Background: The concept of vitamins has evolved over the past century from compounds preventing classical deficiency diseases to nutrients recognized for supporting long-term health. Despite their central role in science and public health, existing definitions often fail to clearly characterize and distinguish vitamins from other bioactive compounds and do not capture the complexity of their nutritional requirements. Method: This article reviews the historical origins and current definitions of vitamins. Results: We identify the limitations of existing definitions and present a contemporary, physiologically informed definition as a discussion proposal. Our proposal no longer relies solely on the prevention of classical hypo- or avitaminoses. Conclusions: By incorporating the concept of conditional essentiality, this framework also tries to clarify the distinction between classical vitamins and other bioactive substances, reflecting variable dietary requirements under different conditions.
KW - conditional essentiality
KW - contemporary definition
KW - vitamins
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105026112480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/nu17243890
DO - 10.3390/nu17243890
M3 - Article
C2 - 41470835
AN - SCOPUS:105026112480
VL - 17
JO - NUTRIENTS
JF - NUTRIENTS
SN - 2072-6643
IS - 24
M1 - 3890
ER -