B-12 Essential Trio – B12, Folinate & B6 for Energy Metabolism | 2 fl oz Liquid
B-12 Essential Trio is a blueberry-flavored liquid with three B vitamins. One serving (a single dropper bulb squeeze, about 0.84 grams) gives 2,000 mcg of vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin, 680 mcg DFE of folate as folinate and 4 mg of vitamin B6. Each 2 fl oz bottle holds 80 servings. Together, these vitamins support normal energy metabolism and healthy homocysteine metabolism.†
B12 occurs naturally only in animal foods, so anyone eating little or no meat, fish, eggs or dairy may need another source. The NIH also advises people over 50 to get most of their B12 from fortified foods or supplements, since many older adults don't make enough stomach acid to free B12 from food (the NIH's consumer guide to vitamin B12).
If you're in your 30s or 40s and building habits so you can keep up at 75, half a dropper each morning is about as easy as a habit gets. No pills to swallow. Aging isn't optional. Getting old is.
Why people take B-12 Essential Trio
- Supports normal energy metabolism, because B12 and B6 are coenzymes your cells use to turn parts of protein and fat into fuel.†
- Supports healthy homocysteine levels already within the normal range, as B12 and folate recycle homocysteine into methionine.†
- Supports normal red blood cell formation and DNA synthesis, with folate and B12 working together.†
- Supports healthy nervous system function.†
- Helps people who eat few animal foods, and adults over 50, keep B12 intake up.†
What's in each serving
| Ingredient | Amount per serving | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B6 (from Pyridoxine HCl) | 4 mg | 235% |
| Folinate (from Calcium Folinate) | 680 mcg DFE | 170% |
| Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin) | 2,000 mcg | 83,333% |
Serving size: 1 Dropper Bulb Squeeze (Approximately half a dropper full, Approximately 0.84 grams). Servings per container: 80. Other ingredients: Vegetable Glycerin, Purified Water, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, and Natural Blueberry Flavor. The label states: "NO soy, salt, yeast, gluten, milk & egg products, sugar, starch, or artificial colors or flavors." It also says: "Refrigerate after opening." Potassium sorbate is a preservative.
How B-12 Essential Trio works
Methylcobalamin (2,000 mcg): B12 for the methylation cycle
B12 is a coenzyme, a helper molecule two enzymes can't work without, and methylcobalamin is one of the two forms your cells use in that role (NIH fact sheet on vitamin B12). It partners with methionine synthase, the enzyme that recycles homocysteine into methionine, which your body turns into SAMe, its most important methyl donor. That same step pulls a one-carbon unit off folate so folate can keep cycling into DNA building blocks, which is why B12 and folate come as a pair. B12's other coenzyme form helps your mitochondria turn leftovers from breaking down certain amino acids into fuel (Froese et al., 2019).†
Straight talk: your cells process any B12 they absorb before using it, and the NIH says there's no evidence that absorption differs by form. We chose methylcobalamin because it's one of the two coenzyme forms, not because we can show it's absorbed or used better.
Why 2,000 mcg when the Daily Value is 2.4 mcg
Because the share you absorb drops as the dose rises: the NIH puts absorption near 50% for doses under 1 to 2 mcg but about 1.3% of a 1,000 mcg dose. A systematic review saw the same pattern with food: people absorbed 83% of a 3 mcg dose but only 4.5% of a 38 mcg dose (Doets et al., 2013). A big dose offsets a small percentage.
Folinate (680 mcg DFE): folate that skips a slow step
Folate carries the one-carbon units your cells need to build DNA and keep the methionine cycle turning.† Most supplements use folic acid, a fully oxidized form your body must first convert with an enzyme called DHFR; food folates are already in the reduced tetrahydrofolate form (NIH fact sheet on folate). In liver tissue from six people, DHFR converted folic acid at less than 2% of the rate seen in rat liver, and activity varied almost fivefold between people (Bailey and Ayling, 2009). Folinate is a formyl form of tetrahydrofolate, the same reduced family as food folate, so it doesn't wait on DHFR. To be fair, that was a lab study, not a supplement trial, and the NIH puts folic acid absorption at about 85% with food. Folinate just takes one step out of the way.
Vitamin B6 (4 mg from pyridoxine HCl): the protein-metabolism helper
Your body turns pyridoxine into pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP), the coenzyme form of B6, which takes part in more than 100 enzyme reactions, mostly in protein metabolism (NIH fact sheet on vitamin B6).† One review names B6, B12 and folate as the B vitamins most involved in homocysteine metabolism, and describes the B group's roles in energy production, DNA synthesis and making the brain's chemical messengers (Kennedy, 2016).† Pyridoxine HCl is the most common B6 form in supplements; if you want B6 already in coenzyme form, that's our P5P 50 mg.
What the research does and doesn't show
What it shows: a pooled analysis of 25 randomized trials with 2,596 participants found folic acid reduced blood homocysteine by 13% to 25%, depending on dose; B12 (0.4 mg a day) brought it down about 7% more, and B6 had no significant effect (Homocysteine Lowering Trialists' Collaboration, 2005). Those trials used folic acid, not folinate, and none tested this product.
What it doesn't show: that B vitamins sharpen your thinking. A systematic review of 14 randomized trials found no clear effect of B6, B12 or folic acid on cognitive test scores, and most trials were small or low quality (Balk et al., 2007). We haven't run a trial on B-12 Essential Trio itself; what we can show you is what's in each serving and how every lot is tested.
How to take B-12 Essential Trio
The label directions, word for word: "Take one serving by mouth in the morning." One serving is a single squeeze of the dropper bulb, which fills about half the dropper.
- Squeeze the bulb once, release, and drip the liquid into your mouth, or into a little water or juice.
- Refrigerate after opening, as the label says.
- At one serving each morning, a bottle's 80 servings last 80 days.
Ask your healthcare practitioner before use if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition. The label gives no serving for children, so check with your child's practitioner first. Acid-reducing medicines can make it harder to absorb B12 from food.
Don't take our word for it
We've been making supplements in Oregon since 1974. Fifty-two years in, here's how we back up this label:
- Verified by independent labs. ISO 17025-accredited labs check our test results.
- Every ingredient lot tested before use. Federal rules only require an identity test on incoming dietary ingredients. We test every incoming lot, the methylcobalamin, folinate and B6 included, for identity, potency, heavy metals and microbes. Here's how we source and test raw materials.
- If it misses spec, it doesn't go in a bottle. More than 99% of our tests pass, and the lots that don't are turned away.
- A certificate of analysis for every lot. See the certificates of analysis for this product.
Made in the USA. Made and tested in Mt. Angel, Oregon. B-12 Essential Trio is made in our UL-certified cGMP facility in Mt. Angel, a farm town of about 3,500 in the Willamette Valley. The people who formulate, make and test it work under one roof, and the owners work in the building too. We're not getting old either.
Frequently asked questions
How much B12, folate and B6 is in one serving?
One serving has 2,000 mcg of vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin (83,333% of the Daily Value), 680 mcg DFE of folate as folinate (170%) and 4 mg of vitamin B6 from pyridoxine HCl (235%).
Is B-12 Essential Trio a sublingual B12?
You can take it that way; the label simply says to take one serving by mouth in the morning. Holding it under your tongue first is fine, though the NIH says evidence suggests no difference in efficacy between oral and sublingual B12.
Is 2,000 mcg of B12 too much?
It's a large dose, but no upper limit has been set for vitamin B12 because of its low potential for toxicity, and you absorb only a small share of it. The 4 mg of B6 is well under the 100 mg adult upper limit. If you take medication, check with your practitioner first.
Can I take it with B-Complex or Triple B-12 Dots?
Check the totals first, because they overlap. Our B-Complex with all eight B vitamins already has 100 mg of B6 per capsule, so adding B-12 Essential Trio brings B6 to 104 mg a day, just over the 100 mg adult upper limit. Triple B-12 Dots add 1,000 mcg of B12 per dot, which you likely don't need on top of 2,000 mcg. Most people pick one, or ask a practitioner first.
How soon will I notice a difference?
There's no jolt, because B vitamins aren't stimulants; they keep enzymes supplied. If your intake was already good, you may not feel a difference at all, and that's normal.
References
- Froese DS et al. Vitamin B12, folate, and the methionine remethylation cycle-biochemistry, pathways, and regulation. J Inherit Metab Dis. 2019. PubMed
- Doets EL et al. Systematic review on daily vitamin B12 losses and bioavailability for deriving recommendations on vitamin B12 intake with the factorial approach. Ann Nutr Metab. 2013. PubMed
- Bailey SW et al. The extremely slow and variable activity of dihydrofolate reductase in human liver and its implications for high folic acid intake. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009. PubMed
- Kennedy DO. B Vitamins and the Brain: Mechanisms, Dose and Efficacy--A Review. Nutrients. 2016. PubMed
- Homocysteine Lowering Trialists' Collaboration. Dose-dependent effects of folic acid on blood concentrations of homocysteine: a meta-analysis of the randomized trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005. PubMed
- Balk EM et al. Vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid supplementation and cognitive function: a systematic review of randomized trials. Arch Intern Med. 2007. PubMed
†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
