PROVITAMIN A

 Dictionary entry overview: What does provitamin A mean? 

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

1. an orange isomer of an unsaturated hydrocarbon found in many plants; is converted into vitamin A in the liver

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROVITAMIN A (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An orange isomer of an unsaturated hydrocarbon found in many plants; is converted into vitamin A in the liver

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

carotene; carotin; provitamin A

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

provitamin (vitamin precursor; a substance that is converted into a vitamin in animal tissues)

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

beta-carotene (an isomer of carotene that is found in dark green and dark yellow fruits and vegetables)

 Context examples 

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)