Maternal and foetal vitamin B12 concentration at parturition among Nigerians

Serum vitamin B12 concentrations were determined immediately after delivery among fifty healthy mothers and in cord blood of their newly delivered babies. The serum vitamin B12 concentrations of the infants were higher than those of their mothers and the ratio was approximately 2:1. The maternal serum vitamin B12 concentration was significantly higher than other maternal serum vitamin B12 concentration reported previously and the infant serum vitamin B12 level was also significantly higher than other infants studied in similar projects. These results suggest that the high serum vitamin B12 concentration reported among Nigerians is most probably due to both genetical and environmental factors coupled with some microbial synthesis in the gastro-intestinal tract after resuming a full adult diet.