Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 exists in several forms and contains the mineral cobalt, so compounds with vitamin B12 activity are called “cobalamins”. There are two of these active in human metabolism: methylcobalamin and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin.

In the bone marrow, vitamin B12 is essential for correct red cell formation and maturation and for haemoglobin synthesis. B12 also functions as a cofactor for methionine synthase, which catalyses the conversion of homocysteine to methionine, a sulphur-based amino acid responsible for over 100 different compounds in the body, including DNA, RNA, hormones, proteins and lipid metabolism.