European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

BIOCHEMISTRY OF VITAMIN B12 AND ACTIVE VITAMIN B12 – AN UPDATE

Dr. R. Dhananjayan*

ABSTRACT

Vitamin B12 is also known as Cobalamin, which is a water-soluble vitamin. It has a complex structure with corrin ring and a central cobalt atom. Deficiencies lead to inefficient erythropoiesis and megaloblastic anemia. General tissue effects of this vitamin and folate deficiencies result in complications of pregnancy – recurrent fetal loss & neural tube defects, cardiovascular disease, malignancy and neurological manifestations. A high rate of deficiency among vegetarians or vegans exists because B12 is only naturally present in animal products, so those who do not consume diets high in fortified products are at risk. In serum it is bound to two proteins, namely transcobalamin and haptocorrin. The transcobalamin-vitamin B12 complex is called Holotranscobalamin known as Active Vitamin B12, which contains the biologically available cobalamin. This article is focussed on the details of various studies on Vitamin B12 and Active Vitamin B12 by various researchers.

Keywords: Vitamin B12, Active Vitamin B12, Cobalamin, Megaloblastic anemia.