According to HTBA (HealthTech BioActives), vitamin B12 is moving from deficiency management to new possibilities in functional nutrition and cognitive function.
The ingredient maker says the vitamin plays an important role in energy metabolism, nervous system function, and red blood cell formation, making it a fundamental nutrient for supporting energy and brain health for life.
Meanwhile, Harvard researchers have indicated that severe vitamin B12 deficiency may cause serious health effects, including depression, paranoia, hallucinations, memory loss, and loss of taste and smell. The vitamin is needed to make red blood cells, DNA and nerves, and must be consumed through food or supplements, as the body cannot make it on its own.
Nutrition Insights Sat down with Teresa Pellicer, Biotechnology Manager at HTBA to discuss the health implications of vitamin B12 deficiency, the public’s limited knowledge of these deficiencies, and how formulators can optimize products for absorption.
“Myriad Health Conditions”
Pellicer says there are a myriad of health conditions associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, including depression, mood swings, dizziness, cognitive decline, low energy, anemia, paresthesia, muscle weakness, hypothyroidism, yellowing of the skin and jaundice, infertility, blurred vision, glaucoma and indigestion.
“Vitamin B12 plays many essential roles in the body. It has many physiological effects and is critical to a number of basic biological processes. These include supporting cellular energy production, building healthy red blood cells and maintaining proper nervous system function.”
The vitamin is also important for tissue maintenance and repair and for supporting normal neurological and metabolic function.
Previous research also found that people with chronic pain had a greater incidence of severe vitamin B12 deficiency.
Pellicer says public awareness of the health risks associated with vitamin B12 deficiency remains relatively limited.Public awareness
Pellicer says public awareness of the health risks associated with vitamin B12 deficiency remains relatively limited.
“Compared to other nutrients – such as iron, which is widely recognized for its role in the prevention of anemia, or calcium and vitamin D, which are usually associated with bone health – vitamin B12 is less well understood by the general public. Awareness is particularly low when it comes to the source of its main risk, which is mainly animal-based food, as it reduces the main causes of animal diseases.”
He argues that the knowledge gap is significant given the important role of vitamin B12 in supporting healthy aging, cognitive function, energy metabolism, and overall well-being.
“Greater education and awareness among health care professionals, public health agencies, and policymakers can help to understand its importance. Increased awareness of dietary sources of vitamin B12 and the early signs and symptoms of deficiency may also help with earlier identification and intervention, which helps reduce the risk of long-term health consequences associated with chronic deficiency.”
Formatting to optimize absorption
The HTBA explains that not all forms of vitamin B12 are created equal when it comes to how the body uses them, as bioavailability, efficacy and potential health claims depend on their form.
Palliser says that cyanocobalamin is the most commonly used form of vitamin B12 in supplements, largely because it is stable and relatively inexpensive. However, it is a synthetic form that must first be converted by the body into active forms of vitamin B12 before it can be used in metabolic processes.
“Methylcobalamin, in contrast, is the biologically active form of vitamin B12. Because it is already in an active state, it can be used directly by the body’s metabolic pathways without the need for this initial conversion step. As a result, it is often associated with strong bioavailability and efficient utilization in tissues.”
“Research also suggests that methylcobalamin may help maintain tissue levels, particularly in the liver—one of the body’s main storage sites for vitamin B12—as well as in other body tissues over time. For these reasons, active forms such as methylcobalamin are often considered better choices in vitamin B12 supplementation.”
Vitamin B12 can provide functional nutritional benefits and boost energy.Innovation in Vitamin B12
While vitamin B12 has long been positioned as a solution to deficiencies, it has the potential to do more than simply address deficiencies, Pelliser explains.
“In particular, with established benefits of supporting energy metabolism, endurance, recovery, and mental clarity, vitamin B12 represents a powerful but untapped ingredient opportunity in functional nutrition and cognitive performance solutions.”
Along with its bioavailability advantage, methylcobalamin also offers particular value in products positioned around long-term performance support, recovery optimization, or training adaptation, he says.
“Beyond deficiency management, vitamin B12 can redefine performance enhancement for active, health-conscious adults. For product developers, positioning vitamin B12 for performance applications means investing in profitable ‘white space’ in crowded nutrient categories,” concludes Pelliser.
Last year, HTBA injected €25 million (≈US$26 million) to modernize its research, development, and production center in Murcia, Spain. The initiative includes the construction of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, making HTBA the only company in Europe that produces all active forms of vitamin B12.
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