Vitamin B12-Cyanocobalamin

Vitamin12 is produced only by fungi and bacteria. Human intestinal bacteria also produced appreciable quantities of it. It was effective in a type of anaemia called pernicious anaemia, in as small a quantity as one-millionth part of a gram. Its deficiency in the body occurred usually due to malabsorption from the intestine rather than from malnutrition.

Vitamin B12 is freely soluble in water. It is resistant to boiling in neutral solutions, but is liable to destruction in the presence of alkalies and acids. Other factors that destroy this vitamin are sunlight, alcohol, oestrogen - the female hormone, and sleeping pills.

Deficiency of vitamin B12 is caused more frequently by problems of absorption than by dietary inadequacy. The presence of a sufficient quantity of gastric juice is essential to facilitate its absorption in the intestine. calcium and protein-rich food greatly help the absorption of this vitamin from the intestines. The amount of vitamin Bl2 which is not immediately needed by the body is stored in the liver, which is capable of storing; relatively large amounts of this nutrient.

About 30 mcg of vitamin B12 are excreted in the normal urine daily. When injected in a large dose upto 100 mcg, upto 90 per cent of the quantity is excreted. Since the absorption of vitamin B12 does not take place in the colon, much of the unabsorbed vitamin B12 is excreted in the stools. This vitamin is also secreted in breast milk for the use of babies.

Vitamin B12 Cyanocobalamin Sources and Functions

Vitamin B12 Healing Properties, Deficiency Symptoms and Precautions

Vitamin B12 Cures for Anaemia, retarded growth in children, poor appetite and difficulty in concentration

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