The form of vitamin D that your skin produces when exposed to UVB light. It functions as a prohormone: the body converts it into 25-OH-D in the liver and then into calcitriol (the active form) in the kidneys. Calcitriol binds to receptors present in almost all body tissues and modulates the expression of over 200 genes.
Documented effects: calcium and phosphorus absorption (bone health), activation of cathelicidin and defensins (innate immunity), modulation of the TPH2 gene (serotonin synthesis), regulation of circadian rhythm and hormonal function.