Vitamine, rimwe na rimwe igasobanurwa nka vitamine, ni ijambo ryihariye mu mirire. Bavuga urukurikirane rwibintu kama kandi ni urwego rwibintu kama kama gakenewe kubantu ninyamaswa kugirango bakomeze imirimo isanzwe ya physiologiya. Byinshi ntibishobora kubyara ibinyabuzima ubwabyo kandi bigomba kuboneka mubiryo. Bake gusa barashobora guhuzwa mumubiri cyangwa bigakorwa na mikorobe yo munda. Zifite uruhare runini mu mikurire y’umuntu, metabolisme, no mu iterambere kandi ni imwe mu ntungamubiri esheshatu zikomeye (karubone, amavuta, poroteyine, imyunyu ngugu, vitamine, n’amazi). Vitamine ntabwo igira uruhare mu kurema ingirabuzimafatizo z'umuntu cyangwa ngo itange imbaraga ku mubiri, ariko zigira uruhare mu myitwarire ya biohimiki mu mubiri kandi ikagenga imikorere y'umubiri. Niba gufata vitamine bidahagije, bizatera ubusumbane mu mikorere ya metabolism y'abantu, bigatuma ubudahangarwa bw'umubiri bugabanuka kandi bitera "kubura vitamine." Ibura rya vitamine y'ibanze rishobora guterwa no gufata bidahagije kubera kubura vitamine mu biryo cyangwa kugabanya ibiryo.
Kubura vitamine ya kabiri birashobora guterwa no kugabanuka kwubushobozi bwumubiri bwo gufata vitamine, kongera vitamine, cyangwa kwivanga kumiti imwe n'imwe. Vitamine ni umuryango mugari, hamwe na benshi bazwi muri iki gihe. Bashobora kugabanywamo ibyiciro bibiri byingenzi: ibinure - gushonga namazi - gushonga. Amazi - vitamine zishonga zishonga byoroshye mumazi ariko ntabwo ziri muri - polar organic solvent. Nyuma yo kwinjizwa, bike cyane bibikwa mumubiri, hamwe nibisohoka hanze yinkari. Ibinure - vitamine zishonga zirashobora gushonga byoroshye mumashanyarazi ya - ariko ntaboneka mumazi. Birashobora kwinjizwa numubiri hamwe namavuta hanyuma bikarundanya mumubiri, hamwe nigipimo gito cyo gusohoka. Buri vitamine isanzwe ikora ibintu byinshi, vitamine nyinshi rero zifite imirimo myinshi. Vitamine A, D, E, na K zifite ibinure - vitamine zishonga, naho vitamine B na C ni amazi - vitamine zishonga. Ibintu bimwe bisa na vitamine zimwe na zimwe kandi birashobora guhinduka vitamine binyuze muburyo bworoshye bwo guhindagurika. Ibi bintu byitwa provitamine. Kurugero, - karotene irashobora guhinduka vitamine A; 7-dehydrocholesterol irashobora guhinduka vitamine D3, ariko ibi bisaba ibintu byinshi bigoye. Tryptophan, igizwe na aside ya nikotinike, ntishobora gufatwa nka poritamine.