HTBA highlights vitamin B12 benefits for cognitive performance and active nutrition

Vitamin B12 is moving beyond deficiency management to new potentials in active nutrition and cognitive performance, according to HTBA (HealthTech BioActives). 

The ingredient manufacturer says the vitamin plays a crucial role in energy metabolism, nervous system function, and red blood cell formation, making it a foundational nutrient for supporting lifelong energy and brain health.

Meanwhile, Harvard researchers have pointed out that severe vitamin B12 deficiency may lead to serious health effects, including depression, paranoia, delusions, memory loss, and loss of taste and smell. The vitamin is needed to create red blood cells, DNA, and nerves, and must be consumed through food or supplements, as the body cannot create it on its own.

Nutrition Insight sits down with Teresa Pellicer, Ph.D., biotechnology manager at HTBA, to discuss the health implications of vitamin B12 deficiency, the limited public’s knowledge of these deficiencies, and how formulators can optimize products for absorption.

“Myriad of health conditions”

Pellicer says there are a myriad of health conditions associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, including depression, mood changes, dizziness, cognitive decline, low energy, anemia, paresthesia, muscle weakness, hypothyroidism, pale and jaundiced skin, infertility, disturbed vision, glossitis, indigestion, and asthma.

“Vitamin B12 plays several essential roles in the body. It has multiple physiological effects and is crucial for a number of fundamental biological processes. These include supporting cellular energy production, enabling the formation of healthy red blood cells, and maintaining proper nervous system function,” she says.

The vitamin is also important for the maintenance and repair of tissues and for supporting normal neurological and metabolic activity.

Previous research also found that people with chronic pain had a greater incidence of severe deficiency in vitamin B12.

Pellicer says public awareness of the health risks associated with vitamin B12 deficiency remains relatively limited.Public knowledge

Pellicer says public awareness of the health risks associated with vitamin B12 deficiency remains relatively limited.

“Compared with other nutrients — such as iron, which is widely recognized for its role in preventing anemia, or calcium and vitamin D, which are commonly associated with bone health — vitamin B12 is less well understood by the general public. Awareness is particularly low when it comes to its main dietary sources, which are primarily foods of animal origin, as well as the factors that can increase the risk of deficiency.”

She argues that this knowledge gap is significant given vitamin B12’s important role in supporting healthy aging, cognitive function, energy metabolism, and overall well-being.

“Greater education and outreach from health care professionals, public health bodies, and policymakers could help improve understanding of its importance. Increasing awareness of both the dietary sources of vitamin B12 and the early signs and symptoms of deficiency may also support earlier identification and intervention, helping to reduce the risk of longer-term health consequences associated with prolonged deficiency.”

Formatting to optimize absorption

HTBA explains that not all forms of vitamin B12 are created equally when it comes to how the body uses them, as bioavailability, efficacy, and potential health claims depend on their form.

Pellicer says cyanocobalamin is the most commonly used form of vitamin B12 in supplements, largely because it is stable and relatively inexpensive. However, it is a synthetic form that must first be converted by the body into active forms of vitamin B12 before it can be used in metabolic processes.

“Methylcobalamin, by contrast, is a biologically active form of vitamin B12. Because it is already in an active state, it can be utilized more directly by the body’s metabolic pathways without requiring this initial conversion step. As a result, it is often associated with strong bioavailability and efficient utilization in tissues.”

“Research also suggests that methylcobalamin may support higher tissue retention, particularly in the liver — one of the body’s main storage sites for vitamin B12 — as well as in other body tissues over time. For these reasons, active forms such as methylcobalamin are often considered premium options in vitamin B12 supplementation.”

Vitamin B12 could offer active nutrition benefits and boost energy.Innovating in vitamin B12

While vitamin B12 has long been positioned as a solution for deficiency, it has the potential to do more than simply address deficiencies, explains Pellicer.

“Notably, with established benefits supporting energy metabolism, endurance, recovery, and mental clarity, vitamin B12 represents a powerful yet underutilized ingredient opportunity in active nutrition and cognitive performance solutions.”

She says with its bioavailability advantage, methylcobalamin also offers unique value in products positioned around longer-term performance support, recovery optimization, or training adaptation.

“Beyond deficiency management, vitamin B12 could redefine proactive performance enhancement for active, health-conscious adults. For product developers, repositioning vitamin B12 for performance applications could therefore mean capitalizing on lucrative ‘white space’ to stand out in crowded nutraceutical categories,” Pellicer concludes.

Last year, HTBA injected €25 million (≈US$26 million) into modernizing its research, development, and manufacturing center in Murcia, Spain. The initiative included the construction of a new state-of-the-art production plant, making HTBA the only company in Europe capable of producing all active forms of vitamin B12.