The B12-Cobalt Connection
by Mark Mead & John Mann
reprinted from SOLSTICE magazine #34, Feb. '90
B12 is the only vitamin synthesized solely by certain microorganisms—many of which are abundant in soil. And the only vitamin containing a trace element: cobalt. B12 owes its chemical name—cobalamin—to the cobalt at the center of its molecular structure. Humans and all vertebrates require cobalt, though it's assimilated only in the form of B12.