Given below are two statements, one labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). Assertion (A) :Most of the vitamins are not synthesised in human body. Reason (R) : Human organs synthesise only essential micronutrients Select the correct answer from the codes given below :

Assertion (A) is true. Of the 13 vitamins, only a few are made in the body in meaningful amounts: vitamin D through skin exposure to UV light, vitamin K by gut bacteria, and niacin from tryptophan. The rest must come from diet.

Reason (R) is false. Essential micronutrients are called essential precisely because the body cannot synthesise them, so they must be supplied through food. The reason reverses the logic: organs do not make essential micronutrients, and that is exactly why the essential label exists.

• Options A and B are wrong because R is false.
• Option D is wrong because A is true, not false.

Core concept: essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and essential fatty acids must come from outside the body. This links to the Mains theme of nutrition security, food fortification and dietary diversity in tackling micronutrient deficiencies like anaemia and hidden hunger.

Trap: students see the words synthesise and essential and assume the reason explains the assertion. Read the reason's claim carefully, because it is factually reversed.