Sources of Natural Vitamins and Synthetic Vitamins

Natural vitamins are obtained from the original sources and these vitamins contain co-factors. Whereas synthetic vitamins are made in laboratory; these vitamins contain artificial colors, sweeteners and preservatives, but they lack co-factors. Check with the doctor, before taking any synthetic vitamins because they know which vitamin is required for you and in how much dose. The following panel shows the sources of natural and synthetic vitamins.

Type of vitamin	Natural Sources of vitamin	Synthetic Sources of vitamin
Vitamin A	Vitamin A in animal sources is called retinoid. It includes eggs, fortified milk, cheese, cream, meat, cod liver oil, kidney, etc. Vitamin A in plant sources are called carotenoids. It includes carrot, lemon grass, spinach, sweet potatoes, apricots, papaya, mango, grapes, pumpkin, etc.	Synthetic sources of vitamin A are mainly: Vitamin A Acetate Vitamin A Palmitate These are made of benzene, methanol and petroleum esters.
Vitamin D	Vitamin D2 is synthesized by plants and vitamin D3 is synthesized by human skin. They are available in eggs, fish oil, milk and fermented soy complexes.	Synthetic sources of vitamin D are mainly: Irradiated ergosterol (yeast) Cholecalciferol
Vitamin E	Vitamin E is available in vegetable oils such as rice bran, sunflower oil, soybean oil and safflower oil. And it is also available in almonds, cereals, spinach, mango, broccoli, wheat germs, etc.	Vitamin E is made from petrochemicals by the reaction of isophytpol with trimethylhydrquinone. Dl-alpha Tocopherol is fully synthetic vitamin E. It is inexpensive and commonly sold in the market. Dl-tocopheryl acetate
Vitamin K	Vitamin K is available in: Plant sources: cabbage, spinach, wheat bran, wheat germ, oats, brussels sprouts, lettuce, barley, etc. Animal sources like milk, meat, eggs, etc.	Vitamin K3 - menadione
Vitamin C	Citrus fruits are the best source of vitamin C like orange, lemon and also in other fruits like kiwi fruit, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, red pepper, green pepper, cabbage, etc	Ascorbic Acid
Vitamin - B1	Fortified milk, yeast, green leafy vegetables, dry fruits, whole grains, cereals, beans, meat, brown rice, rice bran, etc.	Thiamine mononitrate Thiamine hydrochloride
Vitamin B2	Milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, yeast, spinach, kidney beans, sweet potatoes, nuts and legumes.	Riboflavin
Vitamin B3	Rice, wheat, peanuts, fish, chicken, yeast, sunflower seeds, etc.	Niacinamide
Vitamin B5 Pantothenic acid	Yeast, milk, corn, egg yolk, lobster, organ meat, peas, peanuts, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, avocado, legumes, soybeans, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, whole-grain breads, cereals, wheat germ, etc.	Calcium Pantothenate
Vitamin B6	Pork, hazelnuts, pork, garlic pistachios, starchy vegetables and in fruits other than citrus.	Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (HCL)
Vitamin B12	Fortified cereals, fortified soya products, skim milk, red meat, shellfish, eggs, cheese, etc.	Cobalamin or Cyanocobalamin
Vitamin Biotin	Almonds, cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, walnuts mushrooms bananas milk, cheese, eggs, fish, etc.	D-biotin
Vitamin Foliate	Liver, fortified breakfast cereals, broccoli, soya beans, bean sprouts, asparagus, peanuts, etc.	Pteroylglutamic Acid