Vitamin B12
Apr 15, 2020
3 minutes
Words DR KAREN BRIDGMAN
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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.
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