Vitamin C beings. According to this theory, the loss of ascorbic acid's anti-oxidizing properties would have led to an increase in free radicals in the body. Free radicals are known to increase the frequency of genetic mutations, which would subsequently increase the speed of evolution. It has also been noted that the loss of the ability to synthesize ascorbate strikingly parallels the inability to break down uric acid, also a characteristic of primates. Uric acid and ascorbate are both strong reducing agents. This has led to the suggestion that, in higher primates, uric acid has taken over some of the functions of
Vitamin B12 Vitamin B12 Vitamin B, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin that is involved in the metabolism of every cell of the human body: it is a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It is particularly important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the maturation of developing red blood cells in the bone marrow. Vitamin B is one of eight B vitamins; it is the largest and most structurally complicated vitamin. It consists of a class of chemically related compounds (vitamers),