PROVITAMIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does provitamin mean? 

• PROVITAMIN (noun)
  The noun PROVITAMIN has 1 sense:

1. vitamin precursor; a substance that is converted into a vitamin in animal tissues

  Familiarity information: PROVITAMIN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROVITAMIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("provitamin" is a kind of...):

hydrocarbon (an organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "provitamin"):

carotene; carotin; provitamin A (an orange isomer of an unsaturated hydrocarbon found in many plants; is converted into vitamin A in the liver)

 Context examples 

A carotenoid is a type of antioxidant and a type of provitamin.

(Carotenoid, NCI Dictionary)

The pigments are fat-soluble, unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons functioning as provitamins and are converted to vitamin A through enzymatic processes in the intestinal wall.

(Carotene, NCI Thesaurus)

Spinach is one of the most desirable leafy vegetables with high levels of beta-carotene (provitamin A), lutein, folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium.

(World's First True Red Spinach Variety Released, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

An arbitrary unit of measurement of the specific biological activity of vitamin A, defined by the International Conference for Unification of Formula as equal approximately to 0.30 micrograms of all-trans retinol or to 0.60 micrograms of the provitamin A, all-trans-beta-carotene.

(International Unit of Vitamin A, NCI Thesaurus)