Is My B Vitamin Methylated? Free UK Label Checker
Supplement labels name the exact form of each B vitamin, usually in brackets after the vitamin. Pick what your label says, or paste the ingredient line, and this checker explains each form in plain English: which are methylated, which are active forms, and which are standard forms the body converts.
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Check your label
Look for the word after "as", for example "Vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin)". Choose "Not listed" if the nutrient is not on the label.
Your result
Pick a form for at least one nutrient above to see your result.
See also: folate vs folic acid vs methylfolate and our label study of 49 UK B complexes.
How to read the forms
Read the word after "as"
Most labels name the vitamin first and the form second, for example "Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxal-5-phosphate)". The vitamin tells you what it is; the word after "as" tells you which form it comes in. Some labels only give the form, so "methylcobalamin" on its own is vitamin B12.
What "methylated" means
A methylated vitamin is supplied with a methyl group attached, in the form the body uses in methylation. On a B vitamin label the word applies to two nutrients: folate as L-5-MTHF and vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin.
Folate
Folic acid is the synthetic form used in many supplements and fortified foods; the body converts it to the active form, methylfolate. It is well studied, and it is the form the NHS advises before and in early pregnancy. L-5-MTHF is methylfolate itself and appears under several names: methylfolate, L-methylfolate, calcium L-methylfolate, levomefolate, and the branded ingredients Quatrefolic and Metafolin. Folinic acid (sometimes calcium folinate) is a natural form of folate that the body also converts to methylfolate.
Vitamin B12
The forms of B12 permitted in UK food supplements are cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin. Cyanocobalamin is a stable, widely used form that the body converts into methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, the two forms it uses. Hydroxocobalamin is a natural form found in food, converted in the same way. Adenosylcobalamin is an active form but not a methylated one, and methylcobalamin is the methylated form.
Vitamins B6 and B2: active, not methylated
Pyridoxine (often pyridoxine hydrochloride) is the standard form of vitamin B6, and the body converts it into pyridoxal-5-phosphate, or P5P. Riboflavin is the standard form of vitamin B2, and the body converts it into its active forms, including riboflavin-5-phosphate. P5P and riboflavin-5-phosphate carry a phosphate group rather than a methyl group, so they are active forms, not methylated ones.
Thiamine and benfotiamine
Thiamine hydrochloride and thiamine mononitrate are the standard, water-soluble forms of thiamine. Benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form of thiamine, and the body converts it to thiamine. It is not a methylated form.
A note on MTHFR
MTHFR is an enzyme, and the gene that makes it, involved in turning folate into methylfolate. Some people carry a common MTHFR variant; methylfolate is the form that does not need that conversion step. A label checker cannot tell you anything about your own genes or health, so speak to your GP or pharmacist about that.
Standard does not mean lesser
Folic acid, cyanocobalamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and thiamine are all permitted, well studied and widely used. What differs between forms is how many conversion steps sit between the tablet and the form the body uses, and that is what this checker shows.
Questions people ask
What does "methylated" mean on a B vitamin label?
It means the vitamin is supplied with a methyl group attached, in the form the body uses in methylation. On a B vitamin label the word applies to two nutrients: folate as L-5-MTHF (methylfolate) and vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin.
Are P5P and riboflavin-5-phosphate methylated?
No. Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P) and riboflavin-5-phosphate are the active forms of vitamin B6 and vitamin B2. They carry a phosphate group rather than a methyl group, so they are active forms, not methylated ones.
Is folic acid the same as folate?
Folate is the family name. Folic acid is the synthetic form used in many supplements and fortified foods, and the body converts it to the active form, methylfolate. L-5-MTHF is methylfolate itself, and folinic acid is a natural form that the body also converts to methylfolate.
What is benfotiamine?
Benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form of thiamine. The body converts it to thiamine. It is not a methylated form, and on some labels it has a line of its own rather than sitting under a vitamin number.
Why is MTHFR mentioned alongside methylfolate?
MTHFR is an enzyme, and the gene that makes it, involved in turning folate into methylfolate. Some people carry a common MTHFR variant; methylfolate is the form that does not need that conversion step. This checker reads labels only and cannot tell you anything about your own health, so speak to your GP or pharmacist about that.
General information about ingredient forms, not medical advice. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
