B vitamins play an integral part in turning food into energy that cells can use, making a vital contribution to keeping brain, nerves, and heart functioning optimally as well as supporting serotonin production – the happy hormone.

Vitamin B12 is naturally produced in the gut by bacteria and made available as a dietary supplement to those who cannot obtain sufficient quantities from their diet alone, such as those living with pernicious anaemia, intestinal surgery or digestive problems.

1. Energy

B-complex vitamins play a vital role in turning food into energy for our cells to use. Vitamin B12 specifically is especially essential to producing serotonin, an essential neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation. Vitamin deficiency may result in fatigue or mood disorders; B12 injections offer a healthy way of providing that extra boost of energy when needed.

Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria living inside the small intestine of ruminants such as cows, sheep and goats. When you eat meat, dairy products or eggs that contain these foods, these bacteria release the vitamin into your stomach via acid and proteases released by stomach acid and proteases; digestive enzymes in duodenum release it further until binding with intrinsic factor (transport and binding protein produced by stomach parietal cells), whereupon receptor-mediated endocytosis in distal ileum absorption can take place for absorption by receptor-mediated endocytosis in distal ileum absorption.

Vitamin B12 not only increases energy levels but is also essential in red blood cell formation, nerve health and production of methylcobalamin – a cobalt compound which aids liver function and promotes cell metabolism. Adequate levels of B12 may help lower homocysteine levels that have been linked with cardiovascular conditions.

Current methods for manufacturing vitamin B12 can be costly and complex, involving fermentation with specific microbes – either Pseudomonas denitrificans or Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii depending on which strain was chosen – before purification using affinity chromatography takes place – this may take up to one week.

Martin Warren of The Quadram Institute and colleagues have come up with a new, sustainable method for manufacturing this essential nutrient. Utilizing both chemistry and engineering methods, they have designed a molecule which binds directly to vitamin B12 for purification in 20 minutes – cutting down costs as well as environmental impact by doing away with metal-intensive production processes such as cyanide. This approach could also be extended to other processes using costly metals like copper that require expensive metal purification processes such as fluorine.

2. Skin Health

The B vitamins–B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate) and B12 (cobalamin)–are essential to various biological processes, such as red blood cell formation, brain functioning and energy production/metabolism. A deficiency in B12 may lead to skin issues like anemia, pale or jaundiced complexions or even dermatitis.

Vitamin B12 plays an essential role in maintaining the health of skin, hair and nails by helping cell production, improving hydration levels and decreasing inflammation and irritation. Furthermore, vitamin B12 helps improve dark spot appearances as well as uneven skin tones by brightening dull lifeless skin, increasing collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid production and creating a more youthful complexion.

Studies have also demonstrated the benefits of B complex vitamins for relieving skin irritation by helping regulate its microbiome balance, and reducing the release of histamine from cells which line its surface – all potentially aiding to relieve rosacea symptoms and acne symptoms.

Homocysteine, an amino acid known to damage blood vessels and arteries, can be reduced through B12 supplementation, while it can also provide benefits to those suffering from inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea. Studies have proven that oral supplementation of B12 may reduce symptoms like flushing, erythema, papules, telangiectasia, oedema and pustules associated with this disorder.

Studies are ongoing to investigate the benefits of vitamin B12 for skin. Scientists at Durham University have created a metalation calculator which optimises cobalt use in vitamin B12 biosynthesis in order to lower its environmental footprint and minimise its nutrient benefits. The team hopes that it can be adopted by industrial biotechnologists to make manufacturing processes more eco-friendly. If the metalation calculator proves successful, its use could significantly affect production of sustainable dietary supplements and pharmaceutical products. By creating more environmentally-friendly alternatives that rely less on rare metals such as rhodium, tungsten and platinum for production purposes, it will make these essential nutrient supplements less costly while increasing their availability to those in need of their benefits.

3. Mental Health

Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin B12 are essential coenzymes in the citric acid cycle – a process which breaks down glucose (blood sugar) to produce energy for your cells’ energy needs. This fuels your metabolism, immune system and vital organs.

Vitamin B12 differs from other water-soluble vitamins in that it can be stored for extended periods in your body, giving you more value from each meal and helping avoid deficiency symptoms. Vitamin B12 also aids with red blood cell production, nervous system function and maintaining healthy homocysteine levels in your system.

Homocysteine levels above certain levels have been linked with an increased risk for neuropsychiatric conditions like depression and Alzheimer’s disease, including increased cerebrovascular ischemia risks, activating tau kinases that promote tangle formation, and inhibiting methylation reactions [81,82]. Homocysteine may play a part in these conditions by increasing cerebrovascular ischemia risks or activating tau kinases that promote tangle formation as well as inhibiting methylation reactions [82,83,84, 85].

Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin B12 can help safeguard against an excess of homocysteine in your system. According to studies, taking both B12 and folate together has shown to significantly lower homocysteine levels compared with taking just folate alone.

Studies have also demonstrated the power of vitamin B12 to aid mood enhancement by encouraging serotonin production – a chemical responsible for managing emotions and feelings.

Vitamin B12 can also aid your mood by helping prevent sleep-wake cycle disruptions that often come with depression. Studies have revealed that those living with depression tend to have lower serum vitamin B12 levels compared with people without depression.

Vitamin B12 is essential to the development of your brain and nerves. Working alongside other compounds, it helps produce neurotransmitters that carry emotion signals throughout your brain and body – including dopamine and serotonin which play a critical role in maintaining positive emotions. One study found that women suffering depression whose vitamin B12 levels fell on the low side responded well to treatment using both antidepressants and supplements of B12. They believed this improvement likely stemmed from increased synthesis of dopamine and serotonin due to adenosylcobalamin methylation [82]. [82]

4. Stress Relief

B vitamins help your body convert tryptophan into serotonin, improving your mood by helping regulate your sleep cycles and appetite. B complexes also provide key nutrients for lowering homocysteine levels – an amino acid which may contribute to artery damage – helping protect you against heart attacks and stroke.

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin found both in foods and supplements, with its absorption reliant upon intrinsic factor, a protein secreted by cells in the stomach’s parietal and gastric glands, to bind with vitamin B12. When this binding takes place, vitamin B12 is transported through its distal ileum into absorption [1].

Industrial production of vitamin B12 involves fermentation for 7-10 days in large vats containing over 100,000 litres, using specific microorganisms such as Pseudomonas denitrificans or Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii bacteria; but these only produce small quantities, so extraction and purification using affinity chromatography must take place afterward before this nutrient can be used in supplements or fortified foods.

Martin Warren of Quadram Institute collaborated with Professor Nigel Robinson and Tessa Young to increase efficiency of B12 production by creating binding proteins which could efficiently separate it from its food source, thus shortening production from two weeks to just 20 minutes while significantly reducing costs and environmental risks. These proteins were then employed using affinity chromatography purification, cutting process time in half. Furthermore, cobalt was consumed less extensively, significantly cutting costs and environmental risks significantly.

B12 is essential to red blood cell formation, nerve health and energy production; unfortunately most people don’t get enough through diet alone. B12 is produced naturally in our gut by certain bacterial species but not everyone has these bacteria which leads to deficiency; humans can obtain B12 from different food sources including meats, fish, dairy, eggs and fortified dietary products.

Still, B12 deficiency remains an international health problem, particularly among older people and pregnant women. A diet deficient in B12 may result in various disorders, including numbness, tingling or prickling sensations in fingers or toes; supplementation may help; however evidence from randomised controlled trials remains mixed and contradictory.