Comparative Assessment of Concentration of Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin-B12) in Energy Drinks Manufactured in Africa and Foreign-Based Energy Drinks Consumed in Nigeria

As certain sicknesses previously linked to old age, especially kidney dialysis, cardiovascular and nervous system disorders, are becoming more prevalent among the young male and female adults in recent times, medical and science researchers have been saddled with the urgency to unravel the common diets and lifestyles possibly responsible for such soaring. However, the recent accusations have been partly on excessive consumption of energy drinks containing cyanocobalamin. Thus, comparative assessment of the concentration of cyanocobalamin (Vitamin-B12) in energy drinks manufactured in Africa and Foreign-based energy drinks consumed in Nigeria has been studied using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) methodology. The results of the study reveal that the concentrations of cyanocobalamin in the energy drinks manufactured in Africa and the foreign-based counterparts were approximately the same. Both the foreign-based energy drinks and those produced in African continent have pH values ranging from (4..75-6.22), and the cyanocobalamin concentrations were found on the range of (0.0015-0.0180±0.001) within the recommended limits of 10 μg (or 0.01mg/250ml) recommended by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria, and within the daily permissible allowance of 2.4 μg/day (or 0.0024mg/L) recommended by US FDA. The results further showed that the energy drinks from the UK and USA have higher electrical conductivity of 1.28x10^-3-4.57x10^-3 and 1.26x10^-3-4.59x10^-3 μS/cm. Additionally, the findings show that both African and Foreign producers of energy drinks have complied with the National and International recommended permissible limits of cyanocobalamin in energy drinks, thereby making the investigated energy drinks safe for human consumption.