Talk:Cyanocobalamin

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Chemicals, a daughter project of WikiProject Chemistry, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of chemicals. To participate, help improve this article or visit the project page for details on the project.ChemicalsWikipedia:WikiProject ChemicalsTemplate:WikiProject Chemicalschemicals articles
???	This article has not yet received a rating on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
???	This article has not yet received a rating on the project's importance scale.

Page moved to Talk:Vitamin B12. But there may be some cyanocobalamin-specific related issues still to treat here, so I've left it as a TALK page, not a simple redirect.

S B H arris 06:52, 3 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

B12 the band

I have no objection to it being a dab/direct in B12 pages, but putting it in here in cyanocobalamin, is just too much. I'm taking it out. S B H arris 04:06, 4 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There's actually a template that is normally used for this purpose. The reason is that B12 redirects here, and it might not be what people expected (for example, when someone links to the redirect thinking about the band, or someone just types B12 in the "Go" box). The template is {{redirect}}, and results in
"B12" redirects here. For the electronic music duo, see B12 (band).

~~I think the template should be added. --Itub (talk) 08:26, 9 December 2007 (UTC)~~[reply]

I've changed B12 into a redirect to vitamin B12, which seems to solve the issue. --Itub (talk) 10:16, 9 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cyanocobalamin Toxic

I've moved this section here until it can be verified and referenced:

It has been found to produce cyanide in your system in the formation of it into methylcobalamin, which is used by the body. This cyanide can react with potassium to form potassium cyanide (KCN) which is highly toxic. So one should use good forms of Vitamin like methylcobalamin, which is found naturally in nature, and can be readily used by your body. :) _{This was written by a college student very much into food, and in no way can back up these claims. But, scientists have written on the subject, and i hope someone can do some research and correct me if I am wrong in any way.}

-- Ed (Edgar181) 12:33, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In response to the original query, is it reasonable to expect potassium cyanide to remain undissociated in the body? Does the potassium make any difference at all? --Rifleman 82 (talk) 13:57, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No, there will be no specific cation associated with cyanide in a biological environment, but the toxicity of cyanide is independent of the cation associated with it anyway. The important issue here is: Does cyanocobalamin generate any free cyanide under biological conditions; and if so, is the amount generated enough to have negative health consequences? Any statement we make is this article relative to this question needs to have a reliable source. -- Ed (Edgar181) 14:14, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This article might shed some light. (I'll read it when I have more time): PMID 7090966. --Rifleman 82 (talk) 14:20, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Stuff and Nonsense

It is safe to pitch this into the dust bin. Potassium cyanide is NOT a concern. In fact, potassium cyanide isn't the concern at all, and those who observed that the potassium moiety is irrelevant are quite correct. KCN salt doesn't exist in the body: KCN is only present in solution, and it is fully ionized. Ditto for NaCN, LiCN, etc. HCN is a weak acid so it remains in equilibrium and a problem--the cell membrane is permeable to HCN.
There is no such thing a potassium reacting with cyanide. The moment KCN is dissolved becomes K⁺ and CN^-. It is the CN^- that is toxic. Unless someone has nabbed your liver & kidneys, the human body is quite capable of converting excess cyanide into thiocyanate and other such compounds. Happens every day. The trivial amounts of CN in cyanocobalamin used as a vitamin B12 source are not concerning.
There is one case where the CN-cobalamin v. OH-cobalmin makes a difference: treatment of cyanide poisoning. Large doses (much, much larger than is needed for vitamin use) of OH-cobalamin can be used to treat CN poisoning, as it combines with CN^-. The body then can eliminate the excess cyanide via the usual Rhodanese pathway.

24.91.99.19 (talk) 22:25, 24 January 2010 (UTC)KC, MD[reply]

Ordering ingredients by weight

"This fact has caused some people (usually from reading labels on packages and vitamin supplements, in which vitamin B-12 is almost always listed last, since ingredients by law are listed in order of weight percentage)"

I know that US law mandates that food list ingredients in order of weight, do other countries have this law? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.251.28.105 (talk) 13:01, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]