Nutrient

Nutrient
Nutrient cycle in the oceans

A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment.[1] They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy. Methods for nutrient intake vary, with animals and protists consuming foods that are digested by an internal digestive system, but most plants ingest nutrients directly from the soil through their roots or from the atmosphere.

Organic nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins (or their building blocks, amino acids), and vitamins. Inorganic chemical compounds such as dietary minerals, water, and oxygen may also be considered nutrients.[2] A nutrient is said to be "essential" if it must be obtained from an external source, either because the organism cannot synthesize it or produces insufficient quantities. Nutrients needed in very small amounts are micronutrients and those that are needed in larger quantities are called macronutrients. The effects of nutrients are dose-dependent and shortages are called deficiencies.[3]

See healthy diet for more information on the role of nutrients in human nutrition.

Contents

Types of nutrient

Macronutrients is defined in several different ways.[4]


Substances that provide energy

Fat has an energy content of 9 kcal/g (~37.7 kJ/g); proteins and carbohydrates 4 kcal/g (~16.7 kJ/g). Ethanol (grain alcohol) has an energy content of 7 kcal/g (~29.3 kJ/g).[5]

Substances that support metabolism

  • Dietary minerals are generally trace elements, salts, or ions such as copper and iron. Some of these minerals are essential to human metabolism.
  • Vitamins are organic compounds essential to the body. They usually act as coenzymes or cofactors for various proteins in the body.
  • Water is an essential nutrient and is the solvent in which all the chemical reactions of life take place.
The strip of a green alga (Enteromorpha) along this shore indicates that there is a nearby source of nutrients (probably nitrates or ammonia from a small estuary).

Plants absorb nutrients from the soil or the atmosphere, or from water (mainly aquatic plants) an exception are the carnivorous plants, which externally digest nutrients from animals, before ingesting them.[6]

The chemical elements consumed in the greatest quantities by plants are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. These are present in the environment in the form of water and carbon dioxide; energy is provided by sunlight.[7] Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are also needed in relatively large quantities. Together, the "Big Six" are the elemental macronutrients for all organisms,[8] often represented by the acronym CHNOPS.[9] Usually they are sourced from inorganic (e.g. carbon dioxide, water, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate) or organic (e.g. carbohydrates, lipids, proteins) compounds, although elemental diatomic molecules of nitrogen and (especially) oxygen are often used.

Other chemical elements are also necessary to carry out various life processes and build structures; see fertilizer and micronutrient for more information.

Some of these are considered macronutrients in certain organisms. The mnemonic C. HOPKiN'S CaFe Mg (to be used as C. Hopkins coffee mug) is used by some students to remember the list as: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, sulfur, calcium, iron, and magnesium. Silicon, chloride, sodium, copper, zinc, and molybdenum are sometimes also included, but are in other cases considered micronutrients.[10]

Essential and non-essential nutrients

Nutrients are frequently categorized as essential or nonessential. Essential nutrients are unable to be synthesized internally (either at all, or in sufficient quantities), and so must be consumed by an organism from its environment.[11] Nonessential nutrients are those nutrients that can be made by the body, they may often also be absorbed from consumed food.[11] The majority of animals ultimately derive their essential nutrients from plants,[11] though some animals may consume mineral-based soils to supplement their diet.

For humans, these include essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, vitamins, and certain dietary minerals. Oxygen and water are also essential for human survival, but are generally not considered "food" when consumed in isolation.

Humans can derive energy from a wide variety of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and ethanol, and can synthesize other needed amino acids from the essential nutrients.

Non-essential substances within foods can still have a significant impact on health, whether beneficial or toxic. For example, most dietary fiber is not absorbed by the human digestive tract, but is important in digestion and absorption of otherwise harmful substances. Interest has recently increased in phytochemicals, which include many non-essential substances which may have health benefits.[1]

Deficiencies and toxicity

An inadequate amount of a nutrient is a deficiency. Deficiencies can be due to a number of causes including inadequacy in nutrient intake called dietary deficiency, or conditions that interfere with the utilization of a nutrient within an organism.[3] Some of the conditions that can interfere with nutrient utilization include problems with nutrient absorption, substances that cause a greater than normal need for a nutrient, conditions that cause nutrient destruction, and conditions that cause greater nutrient excretion.[3]

Nutrient toxicity occurs when an excess of a nutrient does harm to an organism.

In plants five types of deficiency or toxicity symptoms are common:[12]

  • Chlorosis - which is the yellowing of plant tissue caused by a shortage of chlorophyll synthesis.
  • Necrosis - which is the death of plant tissue.
  • Accumulation of anthocynanin - which produces a purple or reddish colorization of foliage and/or stems.
  • Lack of new growth.
  • Stunting or reduced growth - where new growth is stunted or reduced.

Oversupply of plant nutrients in the environment can cause excessive plant and algae growth. Eutrophication, as this process is called, may cause imbalances in population numbers and other nutrients that can be harmful to certain species. For example, an algal bloom can deplete the oxygen available for fish to breathe. Causes include water pollution from sewage or runoff from farms (carrying excess agricultural fertilizer). Nitrogen and phosphorus are most commonly the limiting factor in growth, and thus the most likely to trigger eutrophication when introduced artificially.

References

  • Donatelle, Rebecca J.2008. Health: The Basics, 8th edition. Benjamin Cummings, ISBN 978-0321523020
  • Whitney, Elanor and Sharon Rolfes. 2007. Understanding Nutrition, 11th edition. Wadsworth Publishing ISBN 978-0495116868
  1. ^ a b Whitney, Elanor and Sharon Rolfes. 2005. Understanding Nutrition, 10th edition, p 6. Thomson-Wadsworth.
  2. ^ FRANCES SIZER; ELLIE WHITNEY (12 November 2007). NUTRITION: CONCEPTS AND CONTROVERSIES. Cengage Learning. pp. 26–. ISBN 9780495390657. http://books.google.com/books?id=mDhMU0Sv6asC&pg=PT26. Retrieved 12 October 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c Audrey H. Ensminger (1994). Foods & nutrition encyclopedia. CRC Press. pp. 527–. ISBN 9780849389801. http://books.google.com/books?id=XMA9gYIj-C4C&pg=PA527. Retrieved 12 October 2010. 
  4. ^ Mark Kern (12 May 2005). CRC desk reference on sports nutrition. CRC Press. pp. 117–. ISBN 9780849322730. http://books.google.com/books?id=uOYqeeXWomwC&pg=PA117. Retrieved 12 October 2010. 
  5. ^ Coyle EF. 1995. Fat metabolism during exercise. Sports science exchange 8(6):59-65
  6. ^ David Sadava; H. Craig Heller; David M. Hillis; May Berenbaum (2009). Life: The Science of Biology. Macmillan. pp. 767–. ISBN 9781429219624. http://books.google.com/books?id=ANT8VB14oBUC&pg=PA767. Retrieved 12 October 2010. 
  7. ^ J. Benton Jones (1998). Plant nutrition manual. CRC Press. pp. 34–. ISBN 9781884015311. http://books.google.com/books?id=rNP2exwYMJIC&pg=PA34. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
  8. ^ New Link in Chain of Life, Wall Street Journal, 2010-12-03, accessed 2010-12-05. "Until now, however, they were all thought to share the same biochemistry, based on the Big Six, to build proteins, fats and DNA."
  9. ^ CHNOPS: The Six Most Abundant Elements of Life, Pearson BioCoach, 2010, accessed 2010-12-09. "Most biological molecules are made from covalent combinations of six important elements, whose chemical symbols are CHNOPS. ... Although more than 25 types of elements can be found in biomolecules, six elements are most common. These are called the CHNOPS elements; the letters stand for the chemical abbreviations of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur."
  10. ^ Perry, David A (1994). Forest ecosystems. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801849879. http://books.google.com/?id=ZWNtHLz3fXYC&pg=PA340&dq=C.+HOPKiNS+CaFe+Mg 
  11. ^ a b c John Griffith Vaughan; Catherine Geissler; Barbara Nicholson; Elisabeth Dowle, Elizabeth Rice (2009). The new Oxford book of food plants. Oxford University Press US. pp. 212–. ISBN 9780199549467. http://books.google.com/books?id=UdKxFcen8zgC&pg=PA212. Retrieved 13 October 2010. 
  12. ^ http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Sciences/BotanicalSciences/PlantHormones/EssentialPlant/EssentialPlant.htm

See also


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  • Nutrient — Nu tri*ent, n. n. 1. Any substance which has nutritious qualities, i. e., which nourishes or promotes growth; a nutriment. [1913 Webster] 2. Specifically: (Microbiology) A substance added to the growth medium of a microorganism to promote growth …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Nutrient — Nu tri*ent, a. [L. nutriens, p. pr. of nutrire. See {Nourish}.] Nutritious; nourishing; promoting growth. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nutrient — (n.) a nutritious substance, 1828, noun use of adjective (1640s) meaning providing nourishment, from L. nutrientem (nom. nutriens), prp. of nutrire to nourish, suckle, feed, foster (see NOURISH (Cf. nourish)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • nutrient — [n] source of nourishment fiber, food, health food, mineral, nutriment, supplements, vitamin; concept 457 …   New thesaurus

  • nutrient — ► NOUN ▪ a substance that provides nourishment essential for life and growth. ORIGIN from Latin nutrire nourish …   English terms dictionary

  • nutrient — [no͞o′trē ənt, nyo͞o′trē ənt] adj. [L nutriens, prp. of nutrire, to nourish: see NURSE] nutritious; nourishing n. a nutritious ingredient or substance in a food …   English World dictionary

  • nutrient — /nooh tree euhnt, nyooh /, adj. 1. nourishing; providing nourishment or nutriment. 2. containing or conveying nutriment, as solutions or vessels of the body. n. 3. a nutrient substance. [1640 50; < L nutrient (s. of nutriens), prp. of nutrire to… …   Universalium

  • nutrient — noun Nutrient is used before these nouns: ↑deficiency, ↑intake Nutrient is used after these nouns: ↑manure …   Collocations dictionary

  • nutrient — UK [ˈnjuːtrɪənt] / US [ˈnutrɪənt] noun [countable] Word forms nutrient : singular nutrient plural nutrients biology a substance in food that plants, animals, and people need to live and grow …   English dictionary

  • nutrient — nu•tri•ent [[t]ˈnu tri ənt, ˈnyu [/t]] adj. 1) nut nourishing; providing nourishment or nutriment 2) nut containing or conveying nutriment, as solutions or vessels of the body 3) a nutrient substance • Etymology: 1640–50; < L nūtrient (s. of… …   From formal English to slang

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