[The nutritional importance and pharmacologic effects of cobalt and vitamin B 12 in man]

Cobalt is an unique trace element for man as it can only reveal its essential properties if provided directly as its biological active form, cobalamin or vitamin B12, the daily requirement of which is 1 to 2 micrograms in adults. This vitamin takes part in the activity of the enzyme methylmalonyl coenzyme A mutase, involved in the conversion of propionyl CoA to succinyl CoA, an intermediary product of the citrate cycle, and of the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate: homocystein methyltransferase, working in the metabolism of methionin and in DNA synthesis. Vitamin B12 deficiency is responsible for a megaloblastic anemia called pernicious anemia and for specific neurological disorders that can be corrected by adequate supplementation. Inorganic cobalt salts can therefore not be considered as essential micronutrients for man, but being able to induce polycythemia, they have a pharmacological property that was recommended in the treatment of various anemias, and they are also used in the management of cyanide poisoning.