Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

Written by Slawomir (“Swavak”) Gromadzki, MPH

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) is a water-soluble vitamin which plays a vital role in the human body and also acts as an antioxidant reducing oxidative damage.

The word “Riboflavin” comes from the combination of two words, “Ribose” and “Flavin”. Ribose is a form of sugar (and a popular energy stimulating supplement known as D-ribose) that forms part of the structure of Riboflavin. “Flavin” is a type of pigment that gives Riboflavin a characteristic bright yellow colour when it gets oxidized.

Since it is a water-soluble vitamin, it can’t be stored in the body and therefore it must be obtained from the food we consume every day. For this reason a refined diet high in sugar, white flour products, white rice, and the use of stimulants such as alcohol or coffee will lead to the deficiency of Riboflavin.

Like other B vitamins, also Riboflavin is used to support metabolism helping digest and extract energy from the foods by converting carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy in the form of “ATP.” That’s why Riboflavin deficiency contributes to various health problems, including anaemia, fatigue, poor cognition, and a sluggish metabolism.

DEFICIENCY

The most common B2 deficiency symptoms may include cracks in the lips and corners of the mouth, swollen tongue, scaly skin, sore throat, tiredness, weakness, redness of the lining of the mouth, etc.

– Riboflavin deficiency contributes to Iron deficiency and anaemia as B2 has been shown in studies to affect the absorption and metabolism of Iron. Cross-sectional population studies show a relationship between Riboflavin intake and anaemia (>).

– Deficiency of Vitamin B2 and B6 may create lesions on the mucous areas of skin due to defective collagen maturation (>, >).

– B2 deficiency is related to increased levels of lactate (indicative of metabolic problem) (>).

– In elderly type 2 diabetics, cognitive decline is linked with B2 deficiency (>).

DIETARY SOURCES

Although B2 is found in some animal foods such as dairy, the healthiest sources of this vitamin are the unrefined (whole) plant foods such as legumes, nuts, seeds and certain vegetables and grains:

Spinach, 1 cup: 0.5 milligram

Almonds, 1 ounce: 0.3 milligram

Quinoa, cooked, 1 cup: 0.2 milligram

Lentils, cooked, 1 cup: 0.1 milligram

Mushrooms, 1/2 cup: 0.1 milligram

Tahini, 2 tablespoons: 0.1 milligram

Kidney, Beans cooked 1 cup: 0.1 milligrams

Some sources suggest that Barley grass may contain 40 times more vitamin B2 than lettuce.

HEALTH BENEFITS

MIGRAINES

Apart from 5-HTP (Tryptophan) also Vitamin B2 supplementation has proved to be often beneficial in coping with migraine headaches. Riboflavin is a safe and well-tolerated approach in treating migraine headaches (R). It also reduced the frequency of migraines (>, >).

In mentioned below studies usually about 300-400mg of a daily dose of riboflavin was used:

“A 2016 review on the clinical evidence behind Riboflavin for Migraine concluded that daily doses of B2 may improve mitochondrial function, thereby preventing attacks and reducing the need for treatment.”

“A 2004 study found that patients who took Riboflavin experienced significantly fewer headaches and used fewer migraine pain killers or could completely avoid medications.”

“A 2015 trial of 55 migraine patients on vitamin B2 showed decreased migraine ‘attack frequency’ and ‘headache days’.”

“1998 study of 80 patients with migraine found that those in the Riboflavin group experienced 50% fewer migraines and reduced severity of pain than those in the placebo group (15% reduction).”

“Since in case of migraine headaches Vitamin B2 may be able to achieve similar results to prescription alternatives with much fewer problems, riboflavin can be considered as safe and more natural alternative to meds.”

In addition, Vitamin B2 is also needed to make serotonin, which deficiency is regarded as the key trigger of migraine headaches.

NIGHTLY LEG CRAMPS

Riboflavin together with other B vitamins reduced the length, pain intensity, and frequency of night leg cramps in the elderly (>).

DEPRESSION

Riboflavin deficiency is a common problem among people with depression (>).

Riboflavin supplementation helped prevent depression after childbirth (>).

Vitamins B1, B2, and B6 improved mood in elderly, depressed subjects (>).

EYE HEALTH

Increased dietary intake of Vitamin B2 lead to a significant decrease in age-related cataracts (>).

HAIR & SKIN

Because Riboflavin plays important role in regulating collagen levels in the body, it helps keep hair and skin healthy. Collagen is the most abundant protein found in skin, hair, nails, muscles, bones, and joints. Studies show that collagen helps improve skin elasticity and moisture (>) and can be effective in promoting hair growth (>).

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Riboflavin supplementation reduced homocysteine, helping prevent heart disease (>).

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Riboflavin shows anti-inflammatory properties under various circumstances (>) and significantly reduced inflammation in a systemic inflammatory syndrome in mice (>).

BRAIN FUNCTION

Increased dietary intake of Riboflavin was linked to better cognitive and abstract performance (>).

Riboflavin improved cognitive test scores in primary school children (>).

CANCER

Riboflavin reduced the risk of colon cancer in women (>, >).

There is a link between Riboflavin deficiency and increased risk of breast cancer (R), prostate cancer (>), and lung cancer (>).

BONE HEALTH

B2 and other B vitamin play a protective role in bone health (>, >, >).

LIVER HEALTH

Vitamin B2 reduced liver injury following liver ischaemia and reperfusion in mice (>) and may help reduce liver damage by promoting liver detoxification (>).

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

Riboflavin helped suppress a motor disability model in multiple sclerosis in mice (>).

In a case study, treatment with Riboflavin was effective in treating Brown–Vialetto–Van Laere syndrome 2, a progressive neurological disorder (>).

PREGNANCY

Riboflavin supplementation lead to more pregnancy, increased weight of the pups, and increased haemoglobin in mice (>).

ANAEMIA

In the type of anaemia which is caused by Iron deficiency, taking a good multivitamin (high in B complex including B2) or taking a B complex supplement with 20-50mg of Riboflavin after first meal is often recommended to reduce the time of recovery from anaemia as B2 has been shown in studies to affect the absorption and metabolism of Iron.

RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE

Infants 0-6 months: 0.3mg
7-12 months: 0.4mg
Children 1-3 years: 0.5mg
4-8 years: 0.6mg
9-13 years: 1.0mg
Men over 14 years: 1.4mg
Women 14-18 years: 1.0mg
Women over 18 years: 1.1mg
Pregnant: 1.4mg
Breastfeeding: 1.6mg

SAFE UPPER LIMIT

Because Vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin, there is a very small risk of toxicity because excess is excreted from the body with the urine.

The official safe upper limit for Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) from supplements in EU countries is 40mg per day taken over a longer period of time.

However, in studies usually about 300-400mg of a daily dose of riboflavin was used. According to one study, administering 400 milligrams of B2 per day (over 200 times the recommended daily intake) to participants, resulted in no negative side effects (>).

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER VITAMINS & MINERALS

– Calcium may form a chelate with Riboflavin (B2), decreasing its absorption.

– Vitamin B1 helps increase absorption of B2.

– Very high levels of Vitamin B1 may interfere with absorption of B2.

– B2 helps with Vitamin B6 metabolism.

– Molybdenum interacts with Vitamin B2 to infuse iron and haemoglobin, thus contributing to the development of healthy red blood cells.

– Riboflavin has been shown in studies to affect the absorption and metabolism of Iron. Cross-sectional population studies show a relationship between riboflavin intake and anaemia.

– B3, B6, Folate, B12, Iron & Zinc can’t be fully bioavailable without B2.

INTERACTIONS WITH MEDICATION

Talk to your healthcare provider before taking Riboflavin as potential interactions with some medications are possible.

URINE COLOUR

– Riboflavin taken alone or in multivitamins can cause the urine to turn yellow-orange in colour.

– When taken in high amounts it may cause diarrhoea and increased urine production.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

– In some sensitive individuals Vitamin B2 may trigger allergic reactions.

RELATED ARTICLES

– MIGRAINE HEADACHES >

– 38 ABSTRACTS WITH RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B-2) RESEARCH >

SOURCES

– https://selfhacked.com/blog/riboflavin/

– https://draxe.com/riboflavin-foods/

– Rahimdel A, Zeinali A, Yazdian-Anari P, Hajizadeh R, Arefnia E. Effectiveness of Vitamin B2 versus Sodium Valproate in Migraine Prophylaxis: 2015 Oct 19;7(6):1344-8. doi: 10.14661/1344.

HEALING RECIPES >

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