B12 Vitamin
Stocked in 10mL vials at MontanaPep in Great Falls, Montana. Sold for laboratory research use only.
| Size | Catalog no. | Price per vial |
|---|---|---|
| 10mL vials | B12 | $20 |
Classification
Methylcobalamin — a naturally occurring coenzyme form of vitamin B12 (not a peptide)
Structure and chemistry
The material supplied here is methylcobalamin, one of the two coenzyme forms of vitamin B12, at a concentration of 10 mg/mL. Cobalamin is a large cobalt-containing corrinoid molecule, not a peptide. What distinguishes the forms is the group attached to the cobalt atom: a methyl group in methylcobalamin, a 5′-deoxyadenosyl group in adenosylcobalamin, a hydroxyl group in hydroxocobalamin, and a cyanide group in the synthetic cyanocobalamin. Note that 10 mg/mL is a concentrated preparation relative to the 1,000 mcg/mL (1 mg/mL) strength used in most conventional B12 ampoules.
What the published research shows
Vitamin B12 has a century of research behind it and an enormous clinical literature. One point deserves stating plainly because it runs against common marketing: the evidence that methylcobalamin is therapeutically superior to cyanocobalamin is weak, and some of it points the other way. A published review concluded that supplementing methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin is unlikely to be advantageous compared with cyanocobalamin. A study in vegan adults found cyanocobalamin produced better holotranscobalamin levels (median 150 pg/L) than methylcobalamin (median 78.5 pg/L). The great majority of B12 intervention trials used cyanocobalamin, so that form has the larger evidence base.
Mechanism of action
Methylcobalamin is the cofactor for cytosolic methionine synthase, which converts homocysteine to methionine. Adenosylcobalamin, the other coenzyme form, serves mitochondrial methylmalonyl-CoA mutase. The common argument for methylcobalamin is that it is ready to use without a conversion step. The counterargument from the published literature is that on absorption the methyl group is removed anyway, and the body must re-form the coenzyme endogenously — so the conversion step is not actually bypassed.
Development history
Vitamin B12 was not developed; it was discovered. Cyanocobalamin was isolated in the first half of the twentieth century and identified as the anti-pernicious anemia factor. The coenzyme forms, adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin, were characterized later as the biologically active species present in human tissue.
Current regulatory status
Vitamin B12 preparations are well established in medicine, and cyanocobalamin is available as an FDA-approved drug product. The methylcobalamin research material supplied here is a research-grade item and is not an approved drug product.
Analytical testing
As a vitamin rather than a peptide, appropriate analysis is small-molecule analytics — HPLC with UV detection or LC-MS against a certified reference standard. Two things matter specifically here. First, the method must distinguish methylcobalamin from hydroxocobalamin and cyanocobalamin, since they differ only by the group bound to cobalt. Second, because ambient light converts methylcobalamin to hydroxocobalamin in aqueous solution, the practical questions are amber or light-protective packaging and demonstrated stability data — a purity figure measured at manufacture says nothing about what is in the vial after light exposure.
Ordering from Great Falls
MontanaPep, also known as Montana Peptides, is an independently owned supplier based at 715 13th Ave S, Great Falls, Montana. Local pickup is available by arrangement, and we ship to research addresses across Montana including Billings, Missoula, Bozeman, Helena, Butte, Kalispell and Havre. Call (406) 799-0812 or email customerservice@montanapep.com.