Riboflavin

Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B₂, is a vitamin our bodies need to stay healthy. It helps make special helper molecules called coenzymes. These coenzymes help us get energy from food, let our cells work properly, and support our immune system. They also help our bodies use other important nutrients like niacin, vitamin B₆, and folate.

We can find riboflavin in many foods. These include meat, fish, eggs, dairy, green vegetables, mushrooms, and almonds. Some countries add riboflavin to grains to make sure people get enough. If we eat more riboflavin than our bodies need, the extra leaves our body through urine. This can make our urine turn a bright yellow color.

Riboflavin is also used as a natural yellow coloring in foods. It is made by special processes in tiny organisms like bacteria and fungi. It can also be created in laboratories.

Definition

Riboflavin, also called vitamin B₂, is a water-soluble vitamin that is part of the B vitamins. Unlike some other B vitamins, riboflavin has only one chemical form. It helps make important molecules called flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide, which our bodies need for many processes.

In its pure form, riboflavin looks like a yellow-orange crystalline powder and tastes bitter. It dissolves in water but not in some other liquids. Riboflavin stays safe when stored properly, but it can break down if there is too much light or heat.

Functions

Riboflavin, also called vitamin B2, helps your body make two important helpers named FMN and FAD. These helpers give you energy, help you grow, and help your body fight off germs. Riboflavin is needed to process foods such as carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

Riboflavin also helps your body handle certain vitamins and minerals. It helps change vitamin B6 into a form your body can use and supports the use of iron, which is important for your blood. If you don’t have enough riboflavin, your body might not use these nutrients as well.

Synthesis

Biosynthesis of riboflavin occurs in bacteria, fungi, and plants, but not in animals. It begins with simple building blocks and finishes with riboflavin through steps that use special enzymes.

Riboflavin can also be produced on a large scale using certain microorganisms, like fungi and bacteria. Some bacteria make more riboflavin when exposed to certain chemicals. The first time scientists created riboflavin in a laboratory was by Richard Kuhn’s team, who combined different chemical pieces to build it.

Uses

Riboflavin, also called vitamin B2, has several useful purposes. One important use is to help treat a condition called keratoconus. In this condition, the clear front part of the eye, called the cornea, becomes thin. Doctors put a special riboflavin liquid on the eye and then use ultraviolet A light to help make the cornea stronger.

Riboflavin may also help prevent migraines, which are severe headaches. Taking high amounts of riboflavin each day might make these headaches happen less often in adults. It is also used as a natural yellow-orange food coloring and is known in Europe as E101.

Dietary recommendations

The National Academy of Medicine updated its suggestions about riboflavin in 1998. For women and men who are 14 years old and above, it suggests eating 1.1 mg/day and 1.3 mg/day, respectively. When someone is pregnant, the suggestion is 1.4 mg/day, and for women who are breastfeeding, it is 1.6 mg/day. For children, the amount needed goes up as they get older.

The European Food Safety Authority also gives suggestions, which are a little higher than in the United States. For adults, it suggests 1.6 mg/day, with more needed during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Just like in the United States, there is no set limit for how much riboflavin is safe to eat because there is no proof that too much can hurt you.