Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Vitamin-D is a lipophilic molecule essential to calcium and phosphate balance and osteo-metabolic system regulation. Vitamin-D metabolites also have physiological functions in non-skeletal tissues, where local synthesis influences regulatory pathways via paracrine and autocrine mechanisms. Vitamin-D deficiency is now recognized as a pandemic. The major cause of vitamin-D deficiency is the lack of appreciation that sun exposure. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin-D and foods that are fortified with vitamin-D are often inadequate to satisfy either a child's or an adult's vitamin-D requirement. Previous studies have suggested that low vitamin-D status was contributed to the development of insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, hypertension, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. Over the past two decades, serum vitamin-D concentrations have markedly decreased in the population of USA. Indeed, only 23% of children and adults in USA were considered to be serum vitamin-D sufficient (serum 25(OH) D�30 mg per L). Decreased vitamin-D and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels are believed to play a role in the etiology of the metabolic syndrome. Recent reports show a wide presence of vitamin-D deficiency from various parts of north India as well as south India. These reports has been indicated that low levels of serum vitamin-D contribute to high risk for insulin resistance, obesity, non alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease in Asian Indians.

Biography

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