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Plant Nutrients

These nutrients are found in the air and water.

Mineral Nutrients

The 13 mineral nutrients, which come from the soil, are dissolved in water and

absorbed through a plant's roots. There are not always enough of these nutrients in the

soil for a plant to grow healthy. This is why many farmers and gardeners use

fertilizers to add the nutrients to the soil.

The mineral nutrients are divided into two groups:

macronutrients and micronutrients .

 Macronutrients  

Macronutrients can be broken into two more groups:

primary and secondary nutrients.

The primary nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), andpotassium (K). These

major nutrients usually are lacking from the soil first because plants use large amounts

for their growth and survival.

The secondary nutrients are calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), andsulfur (S). Thereare usually enough of these nutrients in the soil so fertilization is not always needed.

Also, large amounts of Calcium and Magnesium are added when lime is applied to

acidic soils. Sulfur is usually found in sufficient amounts from the slow

decomposition of soil organic matter, an important reason for not throwing out grass

clippings and leaves.

Micronutrients 

Micronutrients are those elements essential for plant growth which are needed in

only very small (micro) quantities . These elements are sometimes called minor 

elements or trace elements, but use of the term micronutrient is encouraged by theAmerican Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. The

micronutrients

are boron (B), copper (Cu), iron(Fe), chloride (Cl), manganese (Mn), molybdenu

m (Mo) and zinc(Zn). Recycling organic matter such as grass clippings and tree

leaves is an excellent way of providing micronutrients (as well as macronutrients) to

growing plants.

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MacronutrientsNitrogen (N)

• Nitrogen is a part of all living cells and is a necessary part of all proteins,

enzymes and metabolic processes involved in the synthesis and transfer of 

energy.

• Nitrogen is a part of chlorophyll, the green pigment of the plant that is

responsible for photosynthesis.

• Helps plants with rapid growth, increasing seed and fruit production and

improving the quality of leaf and forage crops.

• Nitrogen often comes from fertilizer application and from the air (legumes

get their N from the atmosphere, water or rainfall contributes very little

nitrogen)

Phosphorus (P)

• Like nitrogen, phosphorus (P) is an essential part of the process of 

photosynthesis.

• Involved in the formation of all oils, sugars, starches, etc.

• Helps with the transformation of solar energy into chemical energy; proper 

plant maturation; withstanding stress.

• Effects rapid growth.• Encourages blooming and root growth.

• Phosphorus often comes from fertilizer, bone meal, and superphosphate.

Potassium (K)

• Potassium is absorbed by plants in larger amounts than any other mineralelement except nitrogen and, in some cases, calcium.

• Helps in the building of protein, photosynthesis, fruit quality and reduction

of diseases.

• Potassium is supplied to plants by soil minerals, organic materials, and

fertilizer.

Calcium (Ca)• Calcium, an essential part of plant cell wall structure, provides for normal

transport and retention of other elements as well as strength in the plant. It is

also thought to counteract the effect of alkali salts and organic acids within aplant.

• Sources of calcium are dolomitic lime, gypsum, and superphosphate.

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Magnesium (Mg)

• Magnesium is part of the chlorophyll in all green plants and essential for photosynthesis. It also helps activate many plant enzymes needed for 

growth.

• Soil minerals, organic material, fertilizers, and dolomitic limestone are

sources of magnesium for plants.

Sulfur (S)

• Essential plant food for production of protein.

• Promotes activity and development of enzymes and vitamins.• Helps in chlorophyll formation.

• Improves root growth and seed production.

• Helps with vigorous plant growth and resistance to cold.

•

Sulfur may be supplied to the soil from rainwater. It is also added in somefertilizers as an impurity, especially the lower grade fertilizers. The use of 

gypsum also increases soil sulfur levels.

MicronutrientsBoron (B)

• Helps in the use of nutrients and regulates other nutrients.

• Aids production of sugar and carbohydrates.

• Essential for seed and fruit development.

• Sources of boron are organic matter and borax

Copper (Cu)

• Important for reproductive growth.

• Aids in root metabolism and helps in the utilization of proteins.

Chloride (Cl)

•

Aids plant metabolism.

• Chloride is found in the soil.

Iron (Fe)

• Essential for formation of chlorophyll.

• Sources of iron are the soil, iron sulfate, iron chelate.

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Manganese (Mn)

• Functions with enzyme systems involved in breakdown of carbohydrates,and nitrogen metabolism.

•

Soil is a source of manganese.Molybdenum (Mo) 

• Helps in the use of nitrogen

• Soil is a source of molybdenum.

Zinc (Zn) 

• Essential for the transformation of carbohydrates.

• Regulates consumption of sugars.

• Part of the enzyme systems which regulate plant growth.

• Sources of zinc are soil, zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, zinc chelate.

Nutrition in Animals

The nutritional requirements of most animals are relatively extensive and complex compared with the

simple requirements of plants. The nutrients used by animals include carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic

acids, proteins, minerals, and vitamins.

• Carbohydrates are the basic source of energy for all animals. Animals obtain their carbohydrates

from the external environment (compared with plants, which synthesize carbohydrates by

photosynthesis). About one-half to two-thirds of the total calories every animal consumes daily are

from carbohydrates. Glucose is the carbohydrate most often used as an energy source. This

monosaccharide is metabolized during cellular respiration and part of the energy is used to synthesize

adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Other useful carbohydrates are maltose, lactose, sucrose, and starch.

• Lipids are used to form cellular and organelle membranes, the sheaths surrounding nerve fibers,

and certain hormones. One type of lipid, the fats, are extremely useful energy sources.

• Nucleic acids are used for the construction of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA),

and ATP. Animals obtain their nucleic acids from plant and animal tissues, especially from cells that

contain nuclei. During digestion, the nucleic acids are broken down into nucleotides, which are

absorbed into the cells.

• Proteins form the framework of the animal body. Proteins are essential components of the

cytoplasm, membranes, and organelles. They are also the major components of muscles, ligaments,

and tendons, and they are the essential substances of enzymes. Proteins are composed of 20 kinds of 

amino acids. Although many amino acids can be synthesized, many others must be supplied in the

diet. During digestion, proteins are broken down into their constituent amino acids, which are

absorbed into the body.

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• Among the minerals required by animals are phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.

Animals usually obtain these minerals when they consume plants. Vitamins are organic compounds

essential in trace amounts to the health of animals. Vitamins can be water soluble or fat soluble.

Water-soluble vitamins must be consumed frequently, while fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the

liver in fat droplets. Among the many essential vitamins are vitamin A for good vision, vitamin B for

substances used in cellular respiration (FAD, NAD, and coenzyme A), and vitamin D to assist calcium

absorption in the body.

Animals obtain their nutrients through a broad variety of feeding patterns. Many animal species, such as

sponges, feed on small particles of food that enter their pores. Other aquatic organisms, such as sea

cucumbers, wave their tentacles about and trap food on their sticky surfaces. Mollusks, such as clams and

oysters, feed by filtering materials through a layer of mucus in their gills. Other animal species, such as

certain arthropods, feed exclusively on fluids.

Some animals feed on food masses, and they usually have organs for seizing, chewing, and consuming

food. Herbivores are animals that eat plants, while carnivores are animals that eat other

animals. Omnivores, which consume both plants and animals, are typified by humans.

An important aspect of nutrition is the daily intake of nutrients. Nutrients consist of various chemical substances in thefood that makes up each person's diet. Many nutrients are essential for life, and an adequate amount of nutrients in thediet is necessary for providing energy, building and maintaining body organs, and for various metabolic processes. Peopledepend on nutrients in their diet because the human body is not able to produce many of these nutrientsor it cannotproduce them in adequate amounts.

Provide EnergyPromote growth and

developmentRegulate body functions

Carbohydrates      Proteins       Proteins

Proteins       Lipids       Lipids

Lipids (fats and oils)    Vitamins       VitaminsMinerals       Minerals

Water       Water  

Nutrients are essential to the human diet if they meet two characteristics. First, omitting the nutrient from the diet leads

to a nutritional deficiency and a decline in some aspect of health. Second, if the omitted nutrient is put back into the

diet, the symptoms of nutritional deficiency will decline and the individual will return to normal, barring any permanent

damage caused by its absence.

There are six major classes of nutrients found in food: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids (fats and oils), vitamins (both fat-

soluble and water-soluble), minerals, and water. These six nutrients can be further categorized into three basic

functional groups.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the major source of energy for the body. They are composed mostly of the elements carbon (C),

hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). Through the bonding of these elements, carbohydrates provide energy for the body in the

form of kilocalories (kcal), with an average of 4 kcal per gram (kcal/g) of carbohydrates (a kcal is equivalent to a calorie

on a nutritional label of a packaged food).

Carbohydrates come in a variety of sizes. The smallest carbohydrates are the simple sugars, also known as

monosaccharides and disaccharides, meaning that they are made up of one or two sugar molecules. The best known

simple sugar is table sugar, which is also known as sucrose, a disaccharide. Other simple sugars include the

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monosaccharides glucose and fructose, which are found in fruits, and the disaccharides, which include sucrose, lactose

(found in milk), and maltose (in beer and malt liquors). The larger carbohydrates are made up of these smaller simple

sugars and are known as polysaccharides (many sugar molecules) or complex carbohydrates. These are usually made up of 

many linked glucose molecules, though, unlike simple sugars, they do not have a sweet taste. Examples of foods high in

complex carbohydrates include potatoes, beans, and vegetables. Another type of complex carbohydrate is dietary fiber.

However, although fiber is a complex carbohydrate made up of linked sugar molecules, the body cannot break apart the

sugar linkages and, unlike other complex carbohydrates, it passes through the body with minimal changes.

Although carbohydrates are not considered to be an essential nutrient, the body depends on them as its primary energy

source. The body utilizes most carbohydrates to generate glucose, which serves as the basic functional molecule of 

energy within the cells of the human body (glucose is broken down to ultimately produce adenosine triphosphate, or ATP,

the fundamental unit of energy). When the supply of carbohydrates is too low to adequately supply all the energy needs

of the body, amino acids from proteins are converted to glucose. However, the typical American individual consumes

more than adequate amounts of carbohydrates to prevent this utilization of protein.

Proteins

Proteins are composed of the elements carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), and nitrogen (n). They have a variety of 

uses in the body, including serving as a source of energy, as substrates (starter materials) for tissue growth and

maintenance, and for certain biological functions, such as making structural proteins, transfer proteins, enzyme

molecules, and hormone receptors. Proteins are also the major component in bone, muscle, and other tissues and fluids.

When used for energy, protein supplies an average of 4 kcal/g.

Proteins are formed by the linking of different combinations of the twenty common amino acids found in food. Of these,

ten are essential for the human in the synthesis of body proteins (eight are essential throughout a human's life, whereas

two become essential during periods of rapid growth, such as during infancy).

Protein may be found in a variety of food sources. Proteins from animal sources (meat, poultry, milk, fish) are considered

to be of high biological value because they contain all of the essential amino acids. Proteins from plant sources (wheat,

corn, rice, and beans) are considered to be of low biological value because an individual plant source does not contain all

of the essential amino acids. Therefore, combinations of plant sources must be used to provide these nutrients.

Protein deficiency is not common in the American diet because most Americans consume 1.5 to 2 times more protein than

is required for the body to maintain adequate health. This excess intake of protein is not considered to be harmful for the

average healthy individual. However, when protein intake is inadequate, but total caloric intake is sufficient, a condition

known as kwashiorkor may occur. Symptoms of kwashiorkor include an enlarged stomach, loss of hair and hair color, and

an enlarged liver. Conversely, if protein and caloric intake are both inadequate, a condition known as marasmus occurs.

Marasmus presents with a stoppage of growth, extreme muscle loss, and weakness.

Lipids

Lipids, which consist of fats and oils, are high-energy yielding molecules composed mostly of carbon (C), hydrogen (H),

and oxygen (O) (though lipids have a smaller number of oxygen molecules than carbohydrates have). This small number of 

oxygen molecules makes lipids insoluble in water, but soluble in certain organic solvents. The basic structure of lipids is a

glycerol molecule consisting of three carbons, each attached to a fatty-acid chain. Collectively, this structure is known as

a triglyceride, or sometimes it is called a triacylglycerol. Triglycerides are the major form of energy storage in the body

(whereas carbohydrates are the body's major energy source), and are also the major form of fat in foods. The energy

contained in a gram of lipids is more than twice the amount in carbohydrates and protein, with an average of 9 kcal/g.

Lipids can be broken down into two types, saturated and unsaturated, based on the chemical structure of their longest,and therefore dominant, fatty acid. Whether a lipid is solid or liquid at room temperature largely depends on its property

of being saturated or unsaturated. Lipids from plant sources are largely unsaturated, and therefore liquid at room

temperature. Lipids that are derived from animals contain a higher amount of saturated fats, and they are therefore solid

at room temperature. An exception to this rule is fish, which, for the most part, contain unsaturated fat. The important

difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids is that saturated fatty acids are the most important factor that

can increase a person's cholesterol level. An increased cholesterol level may eventually result in the clogging of blood

arteries and, ultimately, heart disease.

Not all fatty acids are considered harmful. In fact, certain unsaturated fatty acids are considered essential nutrients. Like

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the essential amino acids, these fatty acids are essential to a person's diet because the body cannot produce them. The

essential fatty acids serve many important functions in the body, including regulating blood pressure and helping to

synthesize and repair vital cell parts. It is estimated that the American diet contains about three times the amount of 

essential fatty acids needed daily. Lipids are also required for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and they are

generally thought to increase the taste and flavor of foods and to give an individual a feeling of fullness.

Vitamins

Vitamins are chemical compounds that are required for normal growth and metabolism. Some vitamins are essential for a

number of metabolic reactions that result in the release of energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. There are

thirteen vitamins, which may be divided into two groups: the four fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) and the

nine water-soluble vitamins (the B vitamins and vitamin C). These two groups are dissimilar in many ways. First of all,

cooking or heating destroys the water-soluble vitamins much more readily than the fat-soluble vitamins. On the other

hand, fat-soluble vitamins are much less readily excreted from the body, compared to water-soluble vitamins, and can

therefore accumulate to excessive, and possibly toxic, levels. This means, of course, that levels of water-soluble vitamins

in the body can become depleted more quickly, leading to a vitamin deficiency if those nutrients are not replaced

regularly. Deficiencies of vitamins may result from inadequate intake, as well as from factors unrelated to supply. For

instance, vitamin K and biotin are both produced by bacteria that live within the intestines, and a person can become

deficient if these bacteria are removed by antibiotics. Other factors that may result in a vitamin deficiency include

disease, pregnancy, drug interactions, and newborn development (newborns lack the intestinal bacteria that create

certain vitamins, such as biotin and vitamin K).

Minerals

Minerals are different from the other nutrients discussed thus far, in that they are inorganic compounds (carbohydrates,

proteins, lipids, and vitamins are all organic compounds). The fundamental structure of minerals is usually nothing more

than a molecule, or molecules, of an element. The functions of minerals do not include participation in the yielding of 

energy. But they do play vital roles in several physiological functions, including critical involvement in nervous system

functioning, in cellular reactions, in water balance in the body, and in structural systems, such as the skeletal system.

Because minerals have a very simple structure of usually one or more molecules of an element, they are not readily

destroyed in the heating or cooking process of food preparation. However, they can leak out of the food substance that

contains them and seep into the water or liquid the food is being cooked in. This may result in a decreased level of 

minerals being consumed if the liquid is discarded.

There are many minerals found within the human body, but of the sixteen (or possibly more) essential minerals, the

amount required on a daily basis varies enormously. This is why minerals are subdivided into two classes: macrominerals

and microminerals. Macrominerals include those that are needed in high quantities, ranging from milligrams to grams.

Calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium are macrominerals. Microminerals are those necessary in smaller quantities,

generally between a microgram and a milligram. Examples of microminerals include copper, chromium, and selenium.

Dietary requirements for some minerals have yet to be established.

Water

Water makes up the last class of nutrients, though the fact that it is considered a nutrient is surprising to many people.

Water, however, has many necessary functions in the human body. Some of its actions include its use as a solvent (a

substance that other substances dissolve in), as a lubricant, as a conduction system for transportation of vital nutrients

and unnecessary waste, and as a mode of temperature regulation.

There are many available sources of water other than tap water and bottled water. Some foods have a high water

content, including many fruits and vegetables. In addition, the body can make small amounts of water from variousmetabolic prcesses that result in molecules of water as a by-product. This, however, is by no means sufficient for the

body's needs of water. It is generally recommended that people drink eight cups (or nearly 2 liters) of water a day to

maintain an adequate supply.

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