Q: How many B vitamins make up a B-complex vitamin? I see that some brands of B-Complex contain 4 different B vitamins, like B1, B2, B3 and B6, while others also include more vitamins, like B-12 and folic acid.
It IS confusing, isn’t it? There isn’t any standard or official formula for what a B-complex vitamin should contain. That’s because “B-complex” was a term that wasn’t meant to describe any particular or specific grouping of B vitamins. A vitamin formulation labeled as B-complex may contain any number of the eleven miscellaneous B vitamins, and in various doses and combinations of each.
Although we are used to thinking about vitamins as having an alphabetical designation, like vitamins A, C, D, and E, not all B vitamins are referred to by a number. Although B-1 and B-6 are obviously B vitamins, they have other names too. For example, B-1 is also referred to as thiamine and the vitamin named B-6 is also called pyridoxine. There are other B vitamins, too, but you may not realize what they are because they were never named as a vitamin B followed by a number, and only have “plain” names, like folic acid, biotin and pantothenic acid.
Back when scientists were discovering the many critical nutrients needed by our bodies, they called some of their newly discovered compounds “vitamins”. The first vitamin identified was a fat-soluble compound named Vitamin A. Next to be discovered were 2 water-soluble compounds, christened vitamin B and vitamin C.
Then, in 1930, the scientists hit a snag. Although vitamin A and vitamin C were distinct, easily identifiable compounds, what they originally called vitamin B wasn’t simple at all. Originally identified as one specific molecule, vitamin B turned out to be much, much more: a cluster of distinctly different compounds. Instead of one single B vitamin, scientists ended up isolating, identifying and naming one unique “vitamin B” component after another.
When the first individual B vitamin was identified, it was called vitamin B-1, or thiamine. As a second unique vitamin closely related to thiamine was discovered, it was named Vitamin B-2, or riboflavin. The next one, B-3, ended up with 4 different names: nicotinic acid, nicotinamde, niacin and niacinamide.
After it was discovered that vitamin B was not a single compound, scientists referred to it as “B-complex” to express the potential of more than one vitamin still to be isolated. Over time, several more distinct vitamin B nutrients were isolated, but they weren’t all given a B designation. Eventually, 11 separate vitamins originated from that the initial “vitamin B” compound. All eleven B vitamins are water soluble and eight of them are considered essential nutrients in humans.
Today, each B vitamin has its own name instead of just a numeric designation like B1, B2, or B3. If you are interested in taking a supplement containing B vitamins, you should choose ones that include the eight essential B vitamins, which include thiamine or B1, riboflavin or B2, and pyridoxine or B6. Vitamin B-3, another essential B vitamin, can be quite confusing because it has four different common names: niacin, nicotinic acid, niacinamide, and nicotinamide. The other essential B vitamins are folacin or folic acid, pantothenic acid, and biotin, which was once called vitamin H.
Here Are 6 Key Facts About B-Complex Vitamins:
1.There isn’t any standard B-Complex vitamin formulation. All B vitamins were isolated from the original B vitamin complex, so if a supplement contains more than one B vitamin, it can label itself as a B-complex. There’s also no consistency in the selection of which individual B vitamins are included in products labeled B-Complex.
2.There are only 8 essential B vitamins.
Although there are 11 different individual B vitamins identified, only 8 are considered essential nutrients of the human body. Most B-Complex vitamins contain three to eight of the eight B vitamins considered essential in humans.
3.Every B-vitamin has a name.
Although some B vitamins are identified by the name B followed by a number, each of the B vitamins has its own name as well.
4.All B vitamins are water-soluble.
This means that any excess B-vitamin not needed by your body will be eliminated into your urine by your kidneys.
5.B-vitamins can turn your urine yellow.
Riboflavin (vitamin B-2) is responsible for the characteristic bright yellow urine experienced by many people who take B vitamins.
