What are
Vitamin-like factors are substances that behave similarly to vitamins.
PABA
Among vitamin-like factors, one has been the subject of particular interest by the scientific community, paramminobenzoic acid or PABA, also known as vitamin B10. It is a component of folic acid (vitamin Bc);
Orotic acid
Orotic acid (commonly called vitamin B13) is a vitaminosimile factor that acts as a precursor of the deoxyribibonucleic acid and ribonucleio acid nucleic acids - DNA and RNA); it is synthesized ONLY inside the animal organisms where it is decisive for different physiological mechanisms. Orotic acid and gilts (salts of orotic acid) are also fundamental for the absorption and transport of many trace elements (mineral salts).
Carnitine
Carnitine or vitamin BT is one of the most known vitamin-like factors in sports and diet; it is found in almost all animal tissues and, by placing itself in a specific locus of the mitochondrial membrane, it acts as a transporter of fatty acids allowing it to enter the organelle. Carnitine is more present in muscle cells and its dietary deficiency can be compensated for by endogenous synthesis starting from lysine and methionine, two essential amino acids; on the other hand, a deficit of carnitine and its precursors could also determine a partial malnutrition characterized by chronic fatigue and myopathy, due to the pathological accumulation of lipids (triglycerides) in the cytosol of muscle fibrocells. It is important to reiterate that the mitochondrial locus on which carnitine is inserted are influenced by genetics, therefore, the cellular levels of this vitamin-like factor are extremely variable based on: 1. subjectivity, 2. level of muscular training. In summary, the integration of carnitine (in healthy subjects and eunutrites) does not determine the increase in lipid oxidation.
Choline
Choline or vitamin BJ is one of the most interesting vitaminosimile factors; it is a molecule essential to the biosynthesis of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter of the nervous system. Not least, choline is also a constituent of phospholipids (real "pieces" of cell membranes); represents the precursor of betaine, a protective molecule from osmotic stress, aridity, high salinity and high temperatures, and plays a very important role as a hepato-protector factor preventing the deposit of fat in the liver (fatty liver steatosis). In foods, choline is found mainly in egg yolk, wheat germ and liver.
Inositol
Last but not least of the other vitaminosimile factors, inositol ; this polyol (not a carbohydrate) is a constituent of some phospholipids, plays an important role in the transport of substances through cell membranes and acts as a secondary messenger of eukaryotic cells (for example, human cells). In food, inositol is abundant in some cereals.
