Acetyl-CoA carboxylase

Adenosine diphosphate

Adequate Intake

Alanine aminotransferase

Acetamidobenzoylglutamate

Adenosine triphosphate

The accessibility of a nutrient to participate in metabolic and/or physiological processes.

Body mass index; weight/height² (kg/m²)

Coronary heart disease

Confidence interval

Coenzyme A

Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, a survey conducted by the Agricultural Research Service, USDA

Coefficient of variation

Dietary folate equivalent

Deoxyribonucleic acid

The step in a risk assessment in which the relationship between nutrient intake and adverse effect (in terms of incidence and/or severity of the effect) is determined.

Dietary Reference Intake

Erythrocyte alanine aminotransferase

Estimated Average Requirement

Erythrocyte aspartate aminotransferase

Electroencephalogram

Erythrocyte glutathione reductase

Erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity coefficient

Erythrocyte transketolase

Erythrocyte transketolase activity coefficient

Flavin-adenine dinucleotide

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Formiminoglutamic acid

Flavin mononucleotide

Food and Nutrition Board

The step in a risk assessment, which is concerned with the collection, organization, and evaluation of all information pertaining to the toxic properties of a nutrient.

Human immunodeficiency virus

High-performance liquid chromatography

Human papilloma virus

Intramuscular

Institute of Medicine

Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase

Lowest-observed-adverse-effect level; the lowest intake (or experimental dose) of a nutrient at which an adverse effect has been identified.

Mean cell volume

Myocardial infarction

Methylmalonic acid

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

National Academy of Sciences

Niacin equivalent

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a survey conducted periodically by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Health Interview Survey, a survey conducted periodically by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

No-observed-adverse-effect level; the highest intake (or experimental dose) of a nutrient at which no adverse effect has been observed.

National Research Council, the organizational arm of the National Academies

Neural tube defect

4-Pyridoxic acid

p-Aminobenzoylglutamate

Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase

Pteroylglutamic acid

Pyridoxal

Pyridoxal phosphate

Pyridoxamine

Pyridoxamine phosphate

Pyridoxine

Pyridoxine phosphate

Recommended Dietary Allowance

Within the context of nutrient toxicity, the probability or likelihood that some adverse effect will result from a specified excess intake of a nutrient.

An organized framework for evaluating scientific information that has as its objective a characterization of the nature and likelihood of harm resulting from excess human exposure to an environmental agent (in this case, a dietary nutrient). It includes the development of both qualitative and quantitative expressions of risk. The process of risk assessment can be divided into four major steps: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.

The final step in a risk assessment, which summarizes the conclusions from the other three steps of the risk assessment and evaluates the risk. This step also includes a characterization of the degree of scientific confidence that can be placed in the UL.

The process by which risk assessment results are integrated with other information to make decisions about the need for, method of, and extent of risk reduction. In addition to risk assessment results, risk management considers such issues as the public health significance of the risk, technical feasibility of achieving various degrees of risk control, and economic and social costs of this control.

Standard deviation

Standard error

Standard error of the mean

Transcobalamin I, II, and III

Trimethylamine

Total parenteral nutrition

Thiamin pyrophosphate

Tolerable Upper Intake Level

Uncertainty factor; a number by which the NOAEL (or LOAEL) is divided to obtain the UL. UFs are used in risk assessments to deal with gaps in data (e.g., data uncertainties) and knowledge (e.g., model uncertainties). The size of the UF varies depending on the confidence in the data and the nature of the adverse effect.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

World Health Organization