"Nutrients" redirects here. For nutrition in humans, see Human nutrition. For nutrition in animals, see Animal nutrition. For nutrition in plants, see Plant nutrition. For the journal, see Nutrients (journal).
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures, such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted to smaller molecules in the process of releasing energy, such as for carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and fermentation products (ethanol or vinegar), leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide. All organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino acids that are combined to create proteins, a subset of fatty acids, vitamins and certain minerals. Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from their host.
Different types of organisms have different essential nutrients. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is essential to humans and some animal species, but most other animals and many plants are able to synthesize it. Nutrients may be organic or inorganic: organic compounds include most compounds containing carbon, while all other chemicals are inorganic. Inorganic nutrients include nutrients such as iron, selenium, and zinc, while organic nutrients include, protein, fats, sugars, and vitamins.
A classification used primarily to describe nutrient needs of animals divides nutrients into macronutrients and micronutrients. Consumed in relatively large amounts (grams or ounces), macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, water) are primarily used to generate energy or to incorporate into tissues for growth and repair. Micronutrients are needed in smaller amounts (milligrams or micrograms); they have subtle biochemical and physiological roles in cellular processes, like vascular functions or nerve conduction. Inadequate amounts of essential nutrients, or diseases that interfere with absorption, result in a deficiency state that compromises growth, survival and reproduction. Consumer advisories for dietary nutrient intakes, such as the United States Dietary Reference Intake, are based on the amount required to prevent deficiency, and provide macronutrient and micronutrient guides for both lower and upper limits of intake. In many countries, regulations require that food product labels display information about the amount of any macronutrients and micronutrients present in the food in significant quantities. Nutrients in larger quantities than the body needs may have harmful effects.[1] Edible plants also contain thousands of compounds generally called phytochemicals which have unknown effects on disease or health, including a diverse class with non-nutrient status called polyphenols, which remain poorly understood as of 2017.
^Ensminger AH (1994). Foods & nutrition encyclopedia. CRC Press. pp. 527–. ISBN 978-0-8493-8980-1. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants...
A nutrient cycle (or ecological recycling) is the movement and exchange of inorganic and organic matter back into the production of matter. Energy flow...
Nutrient agar is a general-purpose solid medium supporting growth of a wide range of non-fastidious organisms. It typically contains (mass/volume): 0.5%...
are known as the nutrient foramina, and are particularly large in the shafts of the larger long bones, where they lead into a nutrient canal, which extends...
Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface...
Nutrient profiling, also nutritional profiling, is the science of classifying or ranking foods by their nutritional composition in order to promote health...
The nutrient artery (arteria nutricia, or central artery), usually accompanied by one or two nutrient veins, enters the bone through the nutrient foramen...
essential plant nutrients include seventeen different elements: carbon, oxygen and hydrogen which are absorbed from the air, whereas other nutrients including...
organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain the required amount of nutrients causes malnutrition...
Nutrient density identifies the amount of beneficial nutrients in a food product in proportion to e.g. energy content, weight or amount of perceived detrimental...
Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of microorganisms...
Nutrient timing is a sports dieting concept which suggests that time may be a missing dimension in improved muscular development. This concept represents...
A nutrient enema, also known as feeding per rectum, rectal alimentation, or rectal feeding, is an enema administered to provide nutrition in cases where...
Nutrient management is the science and practice directed to link soil, crop, weather, and hydrologic factors with cultural, irrigation, and soil and water...
Nutrient budgets are comparisons of nutrients applied to the soil to those taken up by crops. A nutrient budget takes into account all the nutrient inputs...
crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in an artificial environment. Terrestrial or aquatic plants may...
air, water, temperature moderation, nutrients, and protection from toxins. Soils provide readily available nutrients to plants and animals by converting...
Nutrient depletion is a form of resource depletion and refers to the loss of nutrients and micronutrients in a habitat or parts of the biosphere, most...
In plants, nutrient resorption is a process in which nutrients are withdrawn from senescing plant tissues. It acts as a nutrient conservation mechanism...
ratio of the essential nutrients carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins in items of food or diet concerning the nutrient requirements of their...
to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Many sources of fertilizer...
Nutrient deficiency may refer to: Malnutrition, a condition in animals that results from a diet deficient in calories and/or essential nutrients Micronutrient...
(species, inorganic pools of nutrients, etc.). Later work demonstrated that these interactions and flows applied to nutrient cycles, changed over the course...
surface runoff, leading to a number of down stream impacts, including nutrient pollution that causes eutrophication. In addition to causing water erosion...
Nutrient sensing is a cell's ability to recognize and respond to fuel substrates such as glucose. Each type of fuel used by the cell requires an alternate...
intake commonly result in malnutrition. Inadequate intake of essential nutrients predisposes humans to various chronic diseases, with some 50% of American...
Seventeen elements or nutrients are essential for plant growth and reproduction. They are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus...
Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2008-01-24. "US National Nutrient Database, Release 28". United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016...
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