Medical Vitamin question

lisab · May 1, 2008

I take a multi-vitamin supplement about 5 days a week. What is it in the pill that makes my urine turn bright, bright yellow? It looks almost fluorescent sometimes!

Moonbear · May 1, 2008

lisab said: ↑

I take a multi-vitamin supplement about 5 days a week. What is it in the pill that makes my urine turn bright, bright yellow? It looks almost fluorescent sometimes!

One of the B-vitamins...IIRC, it's the folate.

chemisttree · May 1, 2008

Does folate have a visible chromaphore? I always thought that color was due to the bright yellow riboflavin (B2).

jim mcnamara · May 1, 2008

pterins (folates as cryptochromes in leaves) have been shown to have max absorption at 380nm. It would give an orange-ish color I presume. Assuming folates in urine are similar.

http://mplant.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/1/1/68 [Broken]

However I always thought riboflavin was the major color culprit, too.

Evo · May 2, 2008

When I take a pill high in iron, the excess iron turns my urine dark yellow or orange.

Moonbear · May 2, 2008

chemisttree said: ↑

Does folate have a visible chromaphore? I always thought that color was due to the bright yellow riboflavin (B2).

Could be...I was certain on the B vitamin part, but since I've never seen any of the B vitamins individually, just as a complex, I could very well be wrong on which one it is that's the yellow culprit.

Edit: Yep, digging around, it is B-2. Even found an ancient archived thread here on it (but am not providing a link to it because it also contained some old crackpottery we wouldn't allow under current guidelines). My apologies for the misinformation about it being folate.

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Medical Vitamin question

lisab

Moonbear

chemisttree

jim mcnamara

Staff: Mentor

Evo

Staff: Mentor

Moonbear