Vitamins: Healthy Brain Function and B Vitamins, 1

Vitamins: Healthy Brain Function and B Vitamins, 1

B vitamins - a group of water-soluble organic compounds, are vital for proper function of the nervous system and are not produced by the human body. These compounds are not grouped together due to similarities in their chemical structures, and because of their close and often interconnected coenzyme effects.

Almost all vitamins act as coenzymes in a vast majority of enzyme processes at the cellular level. As a coenzyme, biologically active forms of vitamins are involved in the conversion of apoenzymes into holosomes , expanding the capabilities of the resulting enzyme to catalyze further reactions.

A good example is the bioactive form of vitamin B 6 -pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Only this form of the compound is a major cofactor for the functioning of over 140 individual enzymes responsible for the synthesis , degradation and transformation of amino acids in the human body.

In general, the various functions of B vitamins can be generalized in two main directions - they serve either catabolic metabolism (degradation of substances and energy production) or anabolic metabolism (production and transformation of bioactive molecules, energy consumption).

However, they also have highly specific properties, characteristic of and occurring only in the brain tissues.

The brain is the most active metabolic organ of the human body. Although it accounts for only 2% of its weight, it absorbs about 20% of the total energy generated by the body. Metabolic function-focused functions of B vitamins, along with their involvement in the biosynthesis of neurochemicals, make them particularly important for brain health .

This importance is confirmed by a number of physiological features: the active passage of B vitamins through the blood-brain barrier, the specialized transport mechanisms for their passage, as well as their increased availability.

The concentration of metiltetrahidrofolata (main form of folate or vitamin B 9 ) for example, is four times higher in the brain than in plasma. The concentrations of biotin (B 7 ) and pantothenic acid (B 5 ) in the brain may not exceed 50 times those in the plasma.