Mecobalamin

Details:

Specification: JP XIV Packing: 50gm, 100gm, 500gm, 1000gm, etc. Alu.Tin Methylcobalamin (mecobalamin) is the preferred form of vitamin B12 and exerts benefits well beyond those of other forms of cobalamin. Methylcobalamin is delivered much better to nerve tissues where it functions in accelerating transmethylation reactions in the manufacture of nucleic acids, neutrotransmitters and phospholipids.

Use

Methylcobalamin has been used as a supplement in patients with vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and in those with diabetes and other neuropathies. Although use in dementia is advocated, aside from correcting deficiencies, clinical trials are limited.

Dosing

The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI, also known as Recommended Daily Allowance [RDA]) for vitamin B₁₂ is 2.4 mcg/day.

Clinical trials with specific dosage recommendations for methylcobalamin are lacking. Dosage is based on recommended dosages for vitamin B₁₂. High dosages of methylcobalamin (1,500 mcg/day orally) have been used in limited studies.

Contraindications

None identified.

Pregnancy/Lactation

Compatible at usual dosages.

Interactions

Medicines considered to reduce the absorption of vitamin B₁₂ include alcohol, aminosalicylic acid, chloramphenicol, colchicine, metformin, neomycin, and proton pump inhibitors.

Adverse Reactions

Vitamin B₁₂ at dosages found in foods or from supplements is well tolerated. GI effects from methylcobalamin may include anorexia, diarrhea, headache, nausea, and vomiting.

Toxicology

Specific toxicological studies are lacking. Vitamin B₁₂ has a long history of safe use even at high dosages. At usual dosages, the cobalt and cyanide content are not considered to be toxicologically relevant.

Source

Vitamin B₁₂ is obtained from animal products (eg, meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, milk, milk products). Tempeh, made from fermented soybeans, contains the beneficial bacteria responsible for producing vitamin B₁₂. Commercial forms of methylcobalamin are produced in the laboratory through the conversion of cyanocobalamin.Harvard 2005

History

Early empirical work on the structure and function of cobalamins as coenzymes was conducted using vitamin B₁₂-dependent bacteria in the 1950s.Beck 1990 Prior to this date, Addison anemia (pernicious anemia) had been described and the involvement of intrinsic factor was recognized through experiments involving regurgitated raw meat. The discovery of liver as a treatment for pernicious anemia in the 1920s led to the Nobel Prize in Medicine, and in 1948 Karl Folkers and Alexander Todd identified cobalamin as the active principle in liver.Olson 2001

Chemistry

Methylcobalamin is the methyl form of cobalamin obtained from hydroxycobalamin, either by chemical manipulation in the laboratory or in the body as a natural process. Cyano- and hydroxocobalamin are considered the storage or transport forms of cobalamin, while methylcobalamin and deoxyadenosylcobalamin are the active forms involved in enzymatic reactions. Methylcobalamin is involved specifically in the normal metabolism of folate and the consequent maintenance of normal homocysteine serum levels.Facts & Comparisons 2011

The 4 cobalamins collectively are often referred to as vitamin B₁₂, and are essential cofactors in the bone marrow and myeloid cells where the replication of chromosomes and cellular division occurs.Facts & Comparisons 2011