Cholecalciferol

Cholecalciferol or vitamin D3 is a form of vitamin D. It plays important roles in bone mineralization and calcium metabolism. The organism can obtain it in two ways: synthesis in the skin through the action of ultraviolet rays from sunlight on 7-dehydrocholesterol or through the digestive tract through the ingestion of foods that contain it. Cholecalciferol is transformed by hydroxylation in the liver to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (calcidiol) which is hydroxylated again in the kidney to form 1-25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol), which is the active form. It is used as a medication for the prevention of vitamin D deficiency.