Vitamins
ifp offers service testing for the entire range of vitamins, utilizing state-of-the-art analytical methods. For more information on vitamins visit the following pages:
The relevance of vitamins in human nutrition
Diseases such as scurvy, which are caused by a vitamin deficiency, were one of the main causes of death sailors faced when they went to sea for longer periods. Extensive research into the causes of this disease led to the discovery and medical exploration of vitamins.
The importance of vitamins shows in the multitude of tasks they fulfil in the organism. They play an important part in lipid, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, but also in the protecton of the organism (boost the immune system; oxidation protection) and in the production of body tissue.
Food is increasingly being enriched with these essential vitamins so as to ensure a balanced supply of vitamins in the population.
Water-soluble vitamins
- Vitamin B1 (thiamin)
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
- Vitamin B3 (niacin)
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
- Vitamin B7 (biotin)
- Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
- Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
- Inositol
Fat-soluble vitamins
- Vitamin A (β-carotene/retinol)
- Vitamin D2/D3 (ergocalciferol/cholecalciferol)
- Vitamin E (α-*, β-, δ-, ε-tocopherol)
* enantiomer separation possible for α-D- and α-L-tocopherol - Vitamin K1/K2 (phylloquinone/menaquinone)
General Information
A vitamin is an organic compound required by the organism not as a source of energy but in order to perform vital functions. Vitamins can usually not be synthesised by the body itself. What they have in common is that they need to be ingested, hence they are essential.
Vitamins can be divided into two groups: the water-soluble vitamins of the B group and vitamin C, and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
Water-soluble Vitamins
Vitamin |
Important for1 |
RM2 |
Occurrence1 |
B1 (thiamine) |
Nervous system, metabolism, cardiac muscle |
1,1 mg |
Wheat germ, whole gra in products, legumes, pork etc. |
B2 (riboflavin) |
Metabolism, protective layer around nerves |
1,4 mg |
Whole grain, fish, meat, milk, dairy products etc. |
B3 (niacin) |
Metabolism, blood vessels, regeneration of skin and muscles |
16 mg |
Peanuts, meat, fish, mushrooms, whole grain products etc. |
B5 (pantothenic acid) |
Production of messenger substances, fatty acid metabolism, cholesterol production |
6 mg |
Innards, nuts, whole grain products, eggs, legumes etc. |
B6 (pyridoxine) |
Protein metabolism, production of messenger substances and blood cells, immune system |
1,4 mg |
Fish, meat, whole grain products, beans, lamb’s lettuce etc. |
B7 (biotin) |
Skin, hair, nails, blood sugar level, cell growth |
50 µg |
Soybeans, walnuts, innards, egg yolk, oat flakes, meat etc. |
B9 (folic acid) |
Blood cells, immune system, production of messenger substances and nucleic acids, pregnancy |
200 µg |
Wheat germ, liver, kale, peas, peanuts etc. |
B12 (cobalamin) |
Blood cells, nervous system, proliferation, mucous regeneration |
2,5 µg |
Mackerel, hering, meat, liver, egg, cheese etc. |
C (ascorbic acid) |
Immune system, conjunctive Parsley, seabuckthom, tissue, gingiva, blood clotting, antioxidant |
80 mg |
Parsley, seabuckthom, currants, sweet pepper, broccoli, kiwi, citrus fruits etc. |
1 Ifp does not claim completeness. This chart is not intended to serve as a nutrition guide. |
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2 Daily reference intakes for vitamins and minerals (adults) according to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 |
Fat-soluble Vitamins
Vitamin |
Important for1 |
RM 2 |
Occurrence1 |
A (retinol; provitamin: beta-carotene) |
Immune system, skin, mucosae, blood cells, eyes, growth; antioxidant |
800 µg |
Retinol: liver, egg yolk, tuna etc. |
D2/D3 (ergocalciferol/cholecalciferol) |
Calcium and phosphate balance, bone development |
5 µg |
Fish ( especially herring, eel, salmon), egg yolk, liver, mushrooms etc. |
E (tocopherol) |
Immune system, gonads; antioxidant |
12 mg |
Wheat germ oil, sunflower oil, cereal germ, hazelnuts etc. |
K1/K2 (phyllochinon/menachinon) |
Blood clotting, bone development |
75 µg |
Phylloquinone: cauliflower, spinach, legumes, liver etc. |
1 Ifp does not claim completeness. This chart is not intended to serve as a nutrition guide. |
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2 Daily reference intakes for vitamins and minerals (adults) according to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 |
Analysis of vitamins in food
Vitamin analysis is carried out either microbiologically using the VitaFast® kits specially developed by ifp or by means of instrumental analysis (high performance liquid chromatography, HPLC).
Determination using VitaFast® and HPLC
Analysis of all water-soluble vitamins (except for vitamin C) is done with the VitaFast® kits developed and produced by ifp. These kits are an innovative advancement of the official method which has been the gold standard in the analysis of water-soluble vitamins for decades. The method uses microorganisms, the growth of which depends on the presence of the vitamin in the sample, in order to detect and quantify the vitamin of interest. This method is traditionally associated with a great deal of work and requires a high level of microbiological expertise. The average turnaround time is one week or more.
With VitaFast®, ifp successfully transferred the official method into a ready-to-use microtiter plate format. Results are usually available after just 48 hours.
The determination of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in food is carried out using a microtiter plate-based enzymatic assay. Unlike the conventional method, this format no longer requires single measurements in cuvettes, thus allowing for much more efficient sample processing.
The ifp was also able to expand its capabilities in the area of determination by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition to fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K as well as vitamin C, the B-vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin and folic acid can also be determined by HPLC. Furthermore, analyses of carnitine, choline, taurine and free inositol are possible. The detection is performed by fluorescence detector (FLD), a UV detector with diode array (DAD) or by coupling with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).
Quantification limits using VitaFast®and enzymology
Compound |
Limit of quantification per 100 g/ml |
B1 (thiamine) |
0,012 mg |
B2 (riboflavin) |
0,04 mg |
B3 (niacin) |
0,016 mg |
B5 (pantothenic acid) |
0,04 mg |
B6 (pyridoxine) |
0,002 mg |
B7 (biotin) |
0,08 µg |
B9 (folic acid) |
0,16 µg |
B12 (cyanocobalamin) |
0,03 µg |
C (ascorbic acid) |
10 mg |
Inositol |
0,5 mg |
Quantification limits using HPLC
Compound |
Limit of quantification per 100 g/ml |
A (retinol; precursor: β-Carotin) |
4,0 µg |
D2/D3 (ergocalciferol/cholecalciferol) |
0,3 µg |
E (α-1), β-, δ-, ε-tocopherol) |
0,2 mg |
K1/K2 (phylloquinone/menaquinone2)) |
2,0 µg |
C (ascorbic acid) |
0,5 mg |
B1 (thiamine) |
0,08 mg |
B2 (riboflavin) |
0,08 mg |
B3 (niacinamid)3) |
0,8 mg |
B3 (nicotinic acid)3) |
0,5 mg |
B5 (pantothenic acid)3) |
1,1 mg |
B6 (pyridoxine) |
0,08 mg |
B7 (biotin)3) |
1,6 µg |
B9 (5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid – natural form)3) |
5 µg |
B9 (folic acid – synthetic form) 3) | 5 µg |
taurine3) | 2,0 mg |
Free L-carnitine3) | 0,5 mg |
Total carnitine3) | 1 mg |
Total choline3) | 3 mg |
Free inositol3) | 5,0 mg |
1) Enantiomer separation of D-α- and L-α-tocopherol is possible
2) Differentiation into MK-4 and MK-7 is possible
3) Determination by means of LC-MS/MS
Please ask in advance for which matrices our respective methods are validated.