What is the Difference Between Vitamin B3 and B12

The key difference between vitamin B3 and B12 is that vitamin B3 is important in controlling cholesterol and triglyceride levels in our blood, whereas vitamin B12 is important as a cofactor in DNA synthesis for both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism.

Vitamin B3 is a member of the vitamin family, which includes three forms of vitamers as nicotinamide, niacin, and nicotinamide riboside. Vitamin B12 is a type of vitamin involved in metabolism in our body.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Vitamin B3  
3. What is Vitamin B12 
4. Similarities – Vitamin B3 and B12 
5. Vitamin B3 vs B12 in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Vitamin B3 vs B12 

What is Vitamin B3?

Vitamin B3 is a member of the vitamin family and includes three forms of vitamers known as nicotinamide, niacin, and nicotinamide riboside. All these three forms can convert within the body into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide or NAD, which is required for human life. It is difficult to make NAD inside our body without either vitamin B3 or tryptophan. This substance was known as a vitamin B3 complex until 2004; thereafter, it was named as a form of vitamin B3.

Figure 01: Niacin

When considering the mechanism of action of vitamin B3, it is used in the transfer reactions within DNA repair and calcium mobilization, along with the phosphate derivative of NAD, NADP. The long-form of NADP is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate.

The food sources that contain vitamin B3 include beans, milk, meat, and eggs. It is also highly bioavailable in enriched flour consisting of non-coenzyme referred to as free niacin. However, high doses of vitamin B3 can be toxic and can result in symptoms like skin dryness, itching, paresthesia, and headache. Moreover, the deficiency of vitamin B3 can cause pellagra.

What is Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is a type of vitamin involved in metabolism in our body. It is also known as cobalamin. It is a water-soluble vitamin and is one of eight B vitamins. This vitamin is important as a cofactor in DNA synthesis for both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. Moreover, vitamin B12 is important in the normal functioning of the nervous system through the role of synthesis of myelin, in the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow, etc.

Figure 02: The Chemical Structure of Vitamin B12

There are many different sources of vitamin B12, including the natural production by some bacteria and archaea, animal-derived food such as egg, milk, liver, fish, meat, crab meat, plant-derived food sources, which include seaweed food, fermented plant food, fortified food items such as breakfast cereals, oat milk, energy bars, nutritional yeast, etc.

What are the Similarities Between Vitamin B3 and B12?

1. Vitamin B3 and B12 are types of vitamins.
2. Both are water-soluble compounds.
3. They are important in biological systems.

What is the Difference Between Vitamin B3 and B12?

Vitamin B3 and B12 are two types of vitamin B complexes. The key difference between vitamin B3 and B12 is that vitamin B3 is important in controlling cholesterol and triglyceride levels in our blood, whereas vitamin B12 is important as a cofactor in DNA synthesis for both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism.

Below is a summary of the difference between vitamin B3 and B12 in tabular form.

Summary – Vitamin B3 vs B12

Vitamin B3 is a member of the vitamin family and includes three forms of vitamers: nicotinamide, niacin, and nicotinamide riboside. Vitamin B12 is a type of vitamin involved in metabolism in our body. The key difference between vitamin B3 and B12 is that vitamin B3 is important in controlling cholesterol and triglyceride levels in our blood, whereas vitamin B12 is important as a cofactor in DNA synthesis for both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism.

Reference:

1. “B Vitamins, B1, B2, b3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, What They Do, Signs of Deficiency, Testing,Consultation, Anti Aging Clinic, Costa Rica.” Anti Age Wellness.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Niacin-3D-balls” By Jynto (talk) – Own work  This image was created with Discovery Studio Visualizer. (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Cobalamin skeletal” By Hbf878 – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

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