Subject: vitamins as "organic" compounds From: "William W. Robinson" <roseguy@verizon.net> Organization: Date: Sun, 14 Apr 02 17:27:36 Message-ID: <MOD$020414.5786@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
I'd like to put in my 2 cents.
Chemists consider a material as "organic" if it is carbon based. They
consider materials
that are mineral based as "inorganic". I believe you'll find that all
vitamins are
"organic" in chemical structure and that all of them have their genesis from
plant or
animal sources. According to "Introductory Plant Biology" by Kingsley Stern,
vitamins
are "organic molecules of varied structure that are synthesized in the
membranes and
cytoplasm of cells" and they function in the plant host by activating
certain enzymes.
Plants may take up certain "organic" compounds from the soil and use them in
their basic
metabolism and those certain "organic" compounds may deserve the title of
"vitamin" but,
on the whole, plants generate vitamins that benefit those creatures that
feed on that
enriched plant material.
Arsenic is not a vitamin, it is an "inorganic" chemical element. It is a
metal, that is,
it tends to through off electrons and it is found in certain soils as a
salt. At best, it
is an essential mineral nutrient to some plants but only in very trace
amounts.