Vitamins are organic compounds of different composition that are necessary for the growth, development, maintenance and normal functioning of the human and animal organism. They are considered essential compounds because they cannot be synthesized in the human body and must be ingested through food. The name vitamin comes from the Latin word vita, which means life. Vitamins are found in the food we consume every day, in small quantities. The daily need for vitamins is not high, but it is necessary to take about 20 mg of them, with the exception of vitamin C, whose daily needs are higher and amount to about 100 mg. We take vitamins into the body in the form of provitamins, which are inactive, but are further metabolized into active forms - vitamins. Vitamins are divided into two basic groups: water-soluble vitamins (vitamin C and B group vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B6, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin and vitamin B12) and fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D , E and K). The importance of vitamins is extremely great, and their lack and excessive consumption of vitamins can have negative effects on the human body.