A combination of eight water-soluble vitamins which play vital roles in cell metabolism is called B vitamins. Vitamins B were taken as a single vitamin in the past. But with the passage of time, new research showed that these vitamins have distinctive chemistry which often found together in alike foods. The supplements which contain all eight vitamins are referred to Vitamin B Complex. However, there is a specific name of each B vitamin (e.g. B1, B2, B3 etc) in the case of using these as an individual vitamin supplements.

Thiamine-Vitamin B1

Riboflavin- Vitamin B2

Niacin includes nicotinamide and nicotinic acid- Vitamin B3

Pantothenic acid- Vitamin B5

Pyridoxine, pyridoxamine and pyridoxal- Vitamin B6

Biotin- Vitamin B7 also known as Vitamin H

Folic acid- Vitamin B9 also called Vitamin M

Cibalamins Commonly cyanobalamin in vitamin supplements- Vitamin B12

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Another study has broadsided the food supplement industry, as it didn’t find any evidence that use of vitamin supplement helps elderly women to avoid cancer and cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are known as the two top women killers.

Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, one of the authors of the study, says: “We can at least encourage women that these vitamin supplements appear to do no harm, but at the same they don’t seem to do any good. Different kinds of vitamins that we get from foods are quite different, as the foods we consume are in complex form and consist of lot of such chemicals as we don’t know about their interaction with each other.”

Previously some results of some other studies have shown that different supplements of vitamin B, C, D, beta carotene and folic acid don’t have the abilities to fight against cancer particularly in women.

Similarly, another study, which was reported last week, found that a large number of healthy kids and teens in the US are consuming vitamins and other dietary supplements needlessly.

According to drug maker Merck & Co claims, Telcagepant has proved more effective drug to treat migraine with least side effects. Zolmitriptan (Zomig) that is often used for migraine treatment is also quite well-known for its different side effects.

A news release about the study says: “Though Zolmitriptan and some new tripants can prove effective to treat migraine, they have many side effects including throat tightness, dizziness, numbness and chest discomfort. Furthermore, they can’t be prescribed for the patients with cardiovascular disease as they become the cause of narrowing blood vessel. Triptans are also not recommended to patients with some migraine subtypes and high blood pressure.

While Telcagepant belongs to a different class known as CGRP or calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonists, experts believe that brain concentrations of CGRP are quite prominent in a migraine and they don’t appear to have blood vessel narrowing qualities and that’s why they may not have the same cardiovascular-related risks like triptans.