Riboflavin
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 Chemical structure of riboflavin | |
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| Trade names | Many[1] |
| Synonyms | lactochrome, lactoflavin, vitamin G[2] |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
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| Routes of administration | By mouth, intramuscular, intravenous |
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| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Elimination half-life | 66 to 84 minutes |
| Excretion | Urine |
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| Chemical and physical data | |
| Formula | C17H20N4O6 |
| Molar mass | 376.37 g·mol−1 |
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Riboflavin (vitamin B2)[3] is one of the B vitamins. The B and C vitamins are the vitamins that dissolve in water, making them water-soluble. The gut of a healthy person can easily take riboflavin from food and pass it on to the blood for the body to use. The body needs the B vitamins release energy from food.[4] Riboflavin has helps keep the nervous system healthy.[4]
When there is too much riboflavin in the body, the gut[5] does not take up enough to make a person sick. However, an injection with too much riboflavin can cause toxicity. Vitamin B toxicity is called hypervitaminosis B.[5] The kidneys take riboflavin out of the blood and put it in the urine[6] to get it out of the body (excretion). If there is much riboflavin in the urine, the urine becomes bright and yellow. Supplements, or a meal with food containing riboflavin (like liver or egg whites) turns the urine yellow because these foods put so much riboflavin into the blood.
Use
Without riboflavin and the other B vitamins the human body cannot use fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Light can break down riboflavin molecules into other molecules that the body cannot use so it is important to keep food sources (such as milk and dairy products) out of the sun.[4][7] The amount that adult (age 19-64) humans need is different for men and women,[4] but the different is not large and sex is not an important factor.
Riboflavin cannot be stored by the body and is needed daily. Men need 1.3mg, and women need 1.1mg of riboflavin.[4] A balanced diet usually contains enough riboflavin.[4]
Deficiency
Riboflavin deficiency causes illness. Some food has added riboflavin, called fortification of the food (or fortified foods). Baby foods, breakfast cereals, pasta, sauces, fruit drinks, and foods like cheese that are made from milk are often fortified. To make Vitamin B2 for vitamin pills or to add to foods, industrial companies grow special yeasts, other fungi, or bacteria that make a lot of riboflavin.[8]
Sources (diet)
Foods that have a lot of riboflavin include:
- milk[4] and dairy products, like cheese made with milk and yogurt (especially pain yogurt)[4]
- meat and fish
- eggs[4]
- leafy green vegetables
- some types of mushroom
- liver
- beans, peas and soybeans [9]
- almonds
- okra
- bananas
- asparagus
- chard
- yeast and cereals
In some countries, yeast, breads, cereal and their products are fortified with riboflavin (called fortified foods). Yeast or flour that is fortified makes fortified bread. Fortified foods are a source of riboflavin.
Foods high in this B vitamin can lose their potency in the sun.[4] Because riboflavin degrades in UV light (including sunlight), the sun affects the nutritional value of these foods, and riboflavin can degrade within 30 minutes of UV exposure.[7]
Riboflavin supplements exist. 40mg or less a day of riboflavin is unlikely to cause harm.[10] Riboflavin deficiency, which means that the diet does not provide enough of the vitamin, can have adverse effects.
Riboflavin Media
The reaction catalysed by the enzyme lumazine synthase. See doi=10.1016/j.xphs.2018.05.002
Riboflavin is the biosynthetic precursor of FMN and FAD
Cultures of Micrococcus luteus growing on pyridine (left) and succinic acid (right). The pyridine culture has turned yellow from the accumulation of riboflavin.
Final step in first laboratory synthesis of riboflavin. Work of Nobel laureate Richard Kuhn's group, see doi=10.1002/cber.19350680922
Related pages
- Riboflavin deficiency
- Vitamin A (retinol) and C (ascorbic acid)
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
References
- ↑ Riboflavin. Drugs.com (22 July 2021). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ↑ The discovery and characterization of riboflavin. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism 61 (3) (2012). p. 224–30. doi:10.1159/000343111.
- ↑ MeSH Browser. meshb.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Vitamins and minerals - B vitamins and folic acid (in en). nhs.uk (2017-10-23). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Unna, Klaus and Greslin, Joseph G.. Studies on the toxicity and pharmacology of riboflavin. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 76 (1) (1942). p. 75–80.
- ↑ Zempleni, J and Galloway, JR and McCormick, DB. Pharmacokinetics of orally and intravenously administered riboflavin in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr 63 (1) (1996)The American Society for Nutrition. p. 54–66. doi:10.1093/ajcn/63.1.54.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Diakonis, Vasilios F.. Riboflavin's time-dependent degradation rate induced by ultraviolet A irradiation. European Journal of Ophthalmology 22 Suppl 7 (2012). p. S51–56. doi:10.5301/ejo.5000114.
- ↑ Stahmann KP, Revuelta JL and Seulberger H.. Three biotechnical processes using Ashbya gossypii, Candida famata, or Bacillus subtilis compete with chemical riboflavin production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 53 (5) (2000). p. 509–516. doi:10.1007/s002530051649.
- ↑ Brody, Tom. Nutritional Biochemistry (1999). San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-134836-9.
- ↑ Vitamins and minerals - B vitamins and folic acid (in en). nhs.uk (2017-10-23). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
Other websites
- Jane Higdon, "Riboflavin", Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute