Hello, I have a question.
How are certain substances classified into the B complex group? Lately, it seems to me that every other substance is labeled with a B. So how many of these B vitamins are there actually?
Thanks :)

The term vitamin originates from the early 20th century and was proposed as a compound of the Latin words "vital" and "amine" (translated as "vital amines").

Currently, the B complex vitamins include the following substances:
Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B4 (adenine), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxal, pyridoxol, pyridoxamine), Vitamin B7 (biotin = vitamin H), Vitamin B8 (inositol), Vitamin B9 – folic acid (folacin, folate), Vitamin B10 (para-aminobenzoic acid - PABA), Vitamin B11 (choline), Vitamin B12 (cobalamin), Vitamin B13 (orotic acid = lipoic acid), Vitamin B14, Vitamin B15 (pangamic acid), Vitamin B16, Vitamin B17 (amygdalin).

The concept of vitamins was gradually expanded to include other newly discovered substances; however, not all contained an amine group in their chemical structure. The categorization was not changed, and today we refer to vitamins as essential substances (vital for life, which the body cannot synthesize on its own, thus must be supplied through daily diet). In a way, the term "vitamin" is outdated and does not correspond to the original meaning of the term.

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