Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A vitamin precursor that the body converts to its active form through normal metabolic processes. Carotene, for example, is a provitamin of vitamin A.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biochemistry Any biologically inactive compound that may be converted into a vitamin within an animal organism

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun vitamin precursor; a substance that is converted into a vitamin in animal tissues

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Breeding to increase β-carotene levels in cereal grains, termed provitamin A biofortification, is an economical approach to address dietary vitamin A deficiency in the developing world.

    Naturejobs - All Jobs Jianbing Yan 2010

  • The stress of the bad hip fracture and recovery may have catalyzed cancer onset, because provitamin D is converted to its active form, D3, by a hormone called ACTH that is responsive to biological stress.

    lavoir - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • They therefore proposed that carotene is a provitamin, an immediate precursor to

    Richard Kuhn and the Chemical Institute: Double Bonds and Biological Mechanisms 2010

  • The stress of the bad hip fracture and recovery may have catalyzed cancer onset, because provitamin D is converted to its active form, D3, by a hormone called ACTH that is responsive to biological stress.

    lavoir - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • For example, in skin vitamin D is produced from UV-B-induced photoconversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC; provitamin D).

    Potential impacts of direct mechanisms of climate change on human health in the Arctic 2009

  • Good fruit and vegetable sources of provitamin A include carrots, yellow squash, red and green peppers, spinach, kale, and other green leafy vegetables.

    Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy M.D. Walter C. Willett 2005

  • Food gives you either preformed, ready-to-go vitamin A or provitamin A that your body can readily convert to active vitamin A.

    Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy M.D. Walter C. Willett 2005

  • Good fruit and vegetable sources of provitamin A include carrots, yellow squash, red and green peppers, spinach, kale, and other green leafy vegetables.

    Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy M.D. Walter C. Willett 2005

  • Food gives you either preformed, ready-to-go vitamin A or provitamin A that your body can readily convert to active vitamin A.

    Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy M.D. Walter C. Willett 2005

  • All these plants are excellent sources of beta carotene provitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and sulfur.

    THE NATURAL REMEDY BIBLE JOHN LUST 2003

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