Cobamamide

Cobamamide is one of the active forms of vitamin B12 that is also known as adenosylcobalamin or dibencozide. This drug is available as a nutritional supplement to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12 is a collective term for these variously substituted corrinoids. The principal biochemical participants are two coenzyme forms of Vitamin B12 that are produced and activated in two separate cellular compartments: methylcobalamin in the cytosol and adenosylcobalamin in the mitochondria ^L2053.

Vitamin B12 (cyancobalamin, Cbl) has two active co-enzyme forms, methylcobalamin (MeCbl) and adenosylcobalamin (AdCbl). There has been a shift in the treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency such that MeCbl is being extensively used and promoted. This exists despite the fact that both MeCbl and AdCbl are necessary for life and have vastly different metabolic fates and functions. MeCbl is mainly involved along with folate in hematopoiesis and the growth of the brain during childhood. Deficiency of AdCbl disturbs the carbohydrate, fat and amino-acid metabolism, and therefore interferes with the formation of myelin. It is therefore important to treat vitamin B12 deficiency with a combination of MeCbl and AdCbl or hydroxocobalamin or cobalamin ^L2054.

Vitamin B12 has important physiological roles including DNA synthesis, myelin formation in the nervous system, red blood cell formation, as well as fatty acid and amino acid metabolism ^L2047. Please refer to the entry DB00115 for more information on this entry.