Which of the following pairs is NOT correctly matched ?
(Vitamin) - (Rich source)

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Vitamin B2 - Cod-liver oil. This is the mismatched pair. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is a water-soluble member of the B-complex, and its classic rich sources are milk and curd, eggs, liver and kidney, yeast and green leafy vegetables. Cod-liver oil is a fish-liver oil, and the vitamins it is famous for are the fat-soluble ones — vitamin A and vitamin D — along with omega-3 fatty acids. There is a shortcut hidden in the question: a purified fat or oil can only carry fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), because water-soluble vitamins such as the B-complex and vitamin C simply do not dissolve in it. So the moment you see a water-soluble B vitamin paired with an oil, the pair is suspect. The other three pairs are all standard textbook associations, which leaves (b) as the only wrong match.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) This pair IS correctly matched, so it cannot be the answer. Rice bran and rice polishings — the outer layer stripped off during milling — are rich in the B-complex, including vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) as well as thiamine and niacin. This is the same reason that a diet of highly polished rice was historically linked with beriberi: the milling throws away the vitamin-bearing bran.  (c) This pair IS correctly matched. Wheat germ oil is the richest common natural source of vitamin E (tocopherols), which is why it is the standard textbook example and the base of many vitamin-E supplements. Vitamin E is fat-soluble, so an oil is exactly where you would expect to find it.  (d) This pair IS correctly matched. Alfalfa (lucerne) is the classic source of vitamin K1, phylloquinone — it is the plant from which Edward Doisy first isolated the vitamin, after Henrik Dam discovered it; the two shared the 1943 Nobel Prize for that work. Green leafy material in general, and alfalfa in particular, is rich in vitamin K.

Concept: Vitamins split into two families by solubility, and that single property decides where they are found in food, how they are stored and how they are lost. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K travel in oils and fats, are stored in the liver and fatty tissue, and can build up to toxic levels if overdosed. The water-soluble vitamins — the whole B-complex and vitamin C — travel in the watery part of food, are barely stored, are lost into cooking water and are excreted in urine, so they must be eaten regularly. A question that pairs vitamins with 'rich sources' is really testing this solubility logic as much as it is testing rote lists.

State PCS 2019 Q86 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q86 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer