In the 1960s an outbreak of dilated cardiomyopathy among heavy beer drinkers in Quebec and Minneapolis was traced to cobalt sulphate added to the beer as a foam stabiliser. In human physiology, cobalt functions exclusively as an integral component of:

• A Thiamine pyrophosphate
• B Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) ✓
• C Coenzyme A
• D Tetrahydrobiopterin

Explanation

Cobalt is held at the centre of the corrin ring of cobalamin, supporting methylmalonyl-CoA mutase and methionine synthase activity. It has no other known biological function in humans, so dietary cobalt requirement is met entirely by vitamin B12. Thiamine contains a thiazolium ring, coenzyme A contains pantothenic acid, and tetrahydrobiopterin contains a pterin ring, none of which binds cobalt.

Reference: Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.