I understand that vitamins are co-enzymes that help speed the reactions that occur within our cells. I also know that there are anti-oxidant vitamins (C and E) that donate electrons to fatty acids to help prevent oxidation due to free radicals. I’m trying to find some actual chemical reactions involving reactions within the body, but I am unable to find any. All that I can find is that Ascorbic Acid donates an electron to a Fatty acid, but I am looking for more specific, namely stuff like C6 H8 O6 + Fatty Acid yields something. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Some vitamins are co-enzymes, or take part in co-enzymatic functions, but not all. Moreover, the antioxidants don’t donate an electron to fatty acids, but donate one or several to the free radicals, which are hungry for them. This prevents these free radicals from scavenging the electrons from other molecules in the body, protecting them from damage. I don’t know the source of where you obtained the “info” that antioxidants donate electrons to fatty acids. Fatty acids do not seek out electrons. Fatty acids are not free radicals.
I heard that, supposedly, after a free radical got to a Fatty Acid and oxidized it, an anti-oxidant could donate an electron to the fatty acid to stop the domino effect of stealing electrons. Thank you for clearing that up. Let me rephrase what I am looking for, any chemical reaction involving vitamins would be greatly appreciated.
The vitamin-moderated chemical process I am most familiar with is the role of vitamin A in the rhodopsin-retinal visual cycle. Vitamin A, stored in the rods and pigment layer of the eye, can be converted to retinal via the enzyme isomerase. I don’t know the exact chemical structures offhand, though. But from what I remember of other vitamins, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, and biotin have coenzyme functions.
Any Biochem textbook should have plenty - I don’t have mine available right now, but I seem to recall there being lots of this kind of stuff in it (isn’t this sad? Biochem is my major, and all I know about it is that the textbook had info - thats what I get for taking too many Organic classes 
).
This might have a bit of info - I didn’t read the whole thing:
http://cble.chem.uu.nl/biolip/research.htm#anchor1026197
Any Biochem textbook should have plenty - I don’t have mine available right now, but I seem to recall there being lots of this kind of stuff in it (isn’t this sad? Biochem is my major, and all I know about it is that the textbook had info - thats what I get for taking too many Organic classes ).
This might have a bit of info - I didn’t read the whole thing:
http://cble.chem.uu.nl/biolip/research.htm#anchor1026197
Let me first start of by thanking everyone for your help. It is now my understanding that this concept is too complex for my current knowledge, and it also has too much of a focus on Biology. I was checking out topics to write a paper for my High School AP Chem class. Unfortunately vitamins seem to not be an adequate topic. Looks like I have to find a new topic that has more of a chemical base and more on a High School level. Once again thanks everyone for the help.
I think vitamins would make an excellent topic for a chemistry paper. Vitamins are, by definition, biochemicals: they participate in chemical reactions in life. You don’t have to go into all the esoteric details, but a generalized paper on the various vitamins, why the B vitamins are lumped together, the various forms of the E vitamins, why vitamins in life are left-handed, etc. You can explain that most vitamins need to be ingested since the body can’t synthesize them. There is a lot of material without going into antioxidants.
oh dear, and i was about to tell you how folate and B12 are involved in amino acid transamination. and how by doing a blood test to measure the levels of homocysteine and methionine in a woman’s blood you can tell if her baby is at risk from spina bifida or another nueral tube defect.
pooh, i would have enjoyed that.
oooh oooh i have an idea! i did a high schol paper on alcohol and it’s physical effects on the body. if you relate this back to the chemical properties of ethanol, and why vitamin C works as a hangover cure, does this give you a project?
I am speechless. Irishgirl, I’d kiss you if I actually knew who you were. Not only would my teacher love that, so would I. That is amazing, thank you so much along with everyone else in this thread.