Vitamin B

Vitamin B (vitamin B Complex) contains a number of vitamins that are usually known by their chemical names. They include thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, and vitamin B12.

Thiamine, or vitamin B1, is found in many foods. Yeast, wheat germ, and liver are specially good sources. Beriberi is due to thiamine deficiency as are some of the symptoms seen in chronic alcoholism.

Riboflavin, or vitamin B2, occurs chiefly in milk, egg white, liver and leafy vegetables. Skin disorders, inflammation of the tongue, and cracking at the corners of the mouth may result from lack of riboflavin.

Niacin, or nicotinic acid, is abundant in yeast, wheat germ, and organ meats (liver, kidney, heart, and brain). Milk contains large amounts of a substance that the body readily converts to niacin. Pellagra is due to severe niacin deficiency.

Pantothenic acid is plentiful in liver, kidney, egg yolk, and fresh green vegetables. No abnormal conditions are known to result from lack of this vitamin.

Folic acid, also known as PGA (pteroylglutamic acid), is plentiful in liver, yeast mushrooms, and green leafy vegetables. This vitamin is essential to a number of chemical reactions that take place in the nucleus of every cell in the body. Alcohol and several other substances, including some antibiotics, interfere with the utilization of folic acid. Some kinds of anemia, sprue, and chronic alcoholism are associated with folic acid deficiency.

Vitamin B12 is abundant in liver and other organ meats. It plays a part in the formation of red blood cells, or erythrocytes. In normal healthy people, most of the vitamin B12 needed is  produced in the intestine. People with pernicious anemia are unable to produce this vitamin, and the disease is controlled by vitamin B12 concentrate.