What is Vitamin PP?
What is Vitamin PP?
The Vitamin PP, niacin, or also called vitamin B3 is a group of two vitamins: nicotinic acid and its amide, nicotinamide. The discovery of such compounds is related to research carried out on the causes of pellagra, and the term “Vitamin PP” comes from these studies (PP stands for Pellagra Prevention).
Vitamin B3 plays an important role in converting food into usable energy and helps the body's cells carry out important chemical reactions. Due to its water-soluble nature, the body does not store this vitamin, which is why we need a daily vitamin B3 supplement.
Vitamin B3 is commonly found as vitamin PP in products of animal origin, such as meat and poultry, and as nicotinic acid (the residual form of vitamin B3) in plant-based foods such as nuts, seeds and green vegetables.
Many grain products (whether whole grain or refined) are also high in vitamin PP.
The body can also make vitamin B3 from tryptophan, an amino acid found in most protein foods. However, converting tryptophan to vitamin B3 is inefficient, as only 60mg of tryptophan is needed to make 1mg of vitamin B3.
Historically, vitamin B3 was known as vitamin PP, an acronym for Pellagra Prevention. That's because a deficiency of vitamin B3 or tryptophan leads to a disease called pellagra, characterized by four signs - diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and, if left untreated, death. Pellagra is rare in developed countries like North America and Europe, but the disease is still common in some developing countries. Nicotinic acid and niacinamide (vitamin PP) can both treat pellagra, but niacinamide is preferred because it has fewer side effects, such as skin redness
Compiled and penned by Crocus Media
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