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Medical Vitamin question

  1. May 1, 2008 #1

    lisab

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    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!
     
    lisab, May 1, 2008
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  3. May 1, 2008 #2

    Moonbear

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    One of the B-vitamins...IIRC, it's the folate.
     
    Moonbear, May 1, 2008
  4. May 1, 2008 #3

    chemisttree

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    Does folate have a visible chromaphore? I always thought that color was due to the bright yellow riboflavin (B2).
     
    chemisttree, May 1, 2008
  5. May 1, 2008 #4

    jim mcnamara

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    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.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 3, 2017
    jim mcnamara, May 1, 2008
  6. May 2, 2008 #5

    Evo

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    When I take a pill high in iron, the excess iron turns my urine dark yellow or orange.
     
    Evo, May 2, 2008
  7. May 2, 2008 #6

    Moonbear

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    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.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2008
    Moonbear, May 2, 2008
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