vitamin B₁₂

vitamin B₁₂, a complex water-soluble organic compound that is essential to a number of microorganisms and animals, including humans. Vitamin B₁₂ aids in the development of red blood cells in higher animals. The vitamin, which is unique in that it contains a metallic ion, cobalt, has a complex chemical structure as shown:

Vitamin B₁₂ occurs in several forms, called cobalamins; cyanocobalamin is the principal one used in vitamin supplements and pharmaceuticals. Vitamin B₁₂ was first isolated in 1948 by American chemist Karl Folkers and British chemist Baron Alexander Todd.

Vitamin B₁₂ is involved in cellular metabolism in two active coenzyme forms—methylcobalamin and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin. Vitamin B₁₂ cooperates with folic acid (folate) in the synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). A deficiency of either compound leads to disordered production of DNA and, hence, to the impaired production of red blood cells. Vitamin B₁₂ also has a separate biochemical role, unrelated to folic acid, in the synthesis of fatty acids in the myelin sheath that surrounds nerve cells. (See table of the vitamins.)

Vitamin B₁₂ is synthesized by microorganisms that occur in the rumen (the first stomach chamber) of cows and sheep. From the rumen it is transferred to the muscle and other tissues, which other animals and humans eat. Good dietary sources of vitamin B₁₂ are eggs, meat, and dairy products. Several kinds of bacteria unable to make the substance require minute amounts for growth.

In humans a lack of the vitamin results in defective formation of the papillae (small projections) of the tongue, giving an appearance of abnormal smoothness. A deficiency of vitamin B₁₂ often causes defective function of the intestine, resulting in indigestion and sometimes constipation or diarrhea. A very serious effect is degeneration of certain motor and sensory tracts of the spinal cord; if the degeneration continues for some time, treatment with vitamin B₁₂ may not correct it. Initial numbness and tingling of fingers or toes may, without treatment, progress to instability of gait or paralysis.

Because vitamin B₁₂ is found in animal but not vegetable foods, strict vegetarians (vegans) who do not eat dairy products, meats, fish, eggs, or vitamin B₁₂-fortified foods may develop a deficiency if they do not receive supplements of the vitamin. Deficiency may also result from competition for vitamin B₁₂ by the broad tapeworm or by intestinal bacteria growing in cul-de-sacs or above partial obstructions in the digestive tract. Additional nutritional deficiencies, such as those of folic acid or iron, are likely to develop in such cases, as in primary intestinal diseases such as celiac disease, tropical sprue, or regional enteritis, all of which affect the absorptive capacity of the small bowel. Pernicious anemia, a disease characterized by the impaired production of red blood cells, is caused by the lack of intrinsic factor, a substance that is normally produced by the stomach and binds with vitamin B₁₂, allowing it to be absorbed and used by the body; treatment involves the administration of intramuscular injections of the vitamin.