BIOBETIC

Hydroxocobalamin is used in the treatment and prevention of Vitamin B12 deficiency. For adults, the daily requirement of Vitamin B12 is probably about 1 to 2 micrograms and this amount is present in most normal diets. However, Vitamin B12 only occurs in animal products, not in vegetables, and therefore strict vegetarian or vegan diets that exclude dairy products may provide an inadequate amount, although a deficiency may not be apparent for many years.

Zinc blocks the intestinal absorption of copper from the diet and the reabsorption of endogenously secreted copper. Zinc induces the production of metallothionein in the enterocyte, a protein that binds copper thereby preventing its transfer into the blood. The bound copper is then eliminated in the stool following desquamation of the intestinal cells.

Pantothenic acid is incorporated into co-enzyme A and is involved in metabolic pathways involving acetylation which includes detoxification of drug molecules and biosynthesis of cholesterol, steroid hormones, mucopolysaccharides and acetylcholine. CoA has an essential function in lipid metabolism.

Pyridoxine hydrochloride is Vitamin B6. It is converted to pyridoxal phosphate which is the co-enzyme for a variety of metabolic transformations. It is essential for human nutrition.

Folic acid is a member of the vitamin B group which is reduced in the body to tetrahydrofolate, a co-enzyme active in several metabolic processes and produces a haemopoietic response in nutritional megaloblastic anaemias. Folic acid is rapidly absorbed and widely distributed in body tissues.