Mecobalamin

About This Product

Mecobalamin, also written methylcobalamin, is a naturally occurring coenzyme form of vitamin B12, supplied as a red crystalline powder. It carries a methyl group at the sixth coordination position on the cobalt centre, where cyanocobalamin carries a cyanide ligand. That methyl group is not a stability additive but the working part of the molecule. Mecobalamin is the cofactor for methionine synthase, the enzyme that remethylates homocysteine to methionine, and it donates its methyl group directly in that reaction before being recharged. Because it is already in an active coenzyme form, it requires no conversion step, which is the rationale for specifying it over cyanocobalamin where the methylation cycle is the point of the supplementation, and it is the form most used in neurological and peripheral nerve preparations. The trade-off is handling: the methyl ligand makes the molecule considerably more light-sensitive than the cyano form, so the material and any product containing it must be protected from light throughout processing and in the finished pack, and amber or opaque packaging is standard. It is used in nutritional supplements, neurological and nerve preparations, pharmaceutical formulations, sublingual and injectable products and in clinical nutrition. Bio Green Chem supplies mecobalamin to specification on assay, loss on drying, appearance, related substances, light protection, heavy metals and microbiology.