Mecobalamin (Methylcobalamin)

About Mecobalamin (Methylcobalamin)

Vitamin B12 is a general term for vitamin B group chemicals with a cobalt ring structure. There are four types of vitamin B12 family: cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin, but clinically used vitamin B12 usually refers to cyanocobalamin.

Cyanocobalamin and hydroxocobalamin have no direct biological activity. Cyanocobalamin is a prodrug, which can be converted into methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin in the human body. Methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin are the two active coenzyme forms of vitamin B12 in the human body.

Cyanocobalamin and hydroxocobalamin are dark red crystals or crystalline powder; adenosylcobalamin is yellow-orange hexagonal crystals, which turn dark red when exposed to air; methylcobalamin is bright red needle-like crystals or crystalline powder.

All four injections of cobalamin are red. In the storage of ordinary medicines, it is necessary to keep them away from sunlight. Cyanocobalamin is the most stable one, and generally it will not be degraded by sunlight; adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin are unstable when exposed to sunlight, and must be strictly protected from sunlight, and the injection time must also be shortened.

The four cobalamins can prevent and treat red blood cell anemia and treat peripheral neuropathy. In the human body, we can only use adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin directly, cyanocobalamin and hydroxocobalamin need to be converted into adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin by the organelles in the liver before they can be utilized by the human body. For people with liver diseases, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin should be directly supplemented to reduce the burden on the liver, and patients with liver function impairment can be given priority.