History of Cobalt as Trace Element

Cobalt is a part of vitamin B12, which is essential for human health. Cobalt is used to treat anemia in pregnant women, because it stimulates the production of red blood cells.

Cobalt had been found in animal tissues in the early 1900s. It was not until 1935, however, that Australian research established cobalt as a dietary essential for ruminants.

It was discovered by Dr. Eric Underwood, an expert in medical geology field.

The discovery, in 1948, that vitamin B12, contains 4 percent cobalt proved this element to be an essential nutrient for man.

Vitamin B12, was the oldest vitamin to be discovered and the most potent of the vitamins, with the lowest concentrations required to meet daily requirements.

The complex molecule vitamin B12, has been studied for forty years.

It is unique in that the trace element cobalt is an integral part of the molecule. Its structure as a cobalt-containing corrin was established in 1952 by Dorothy Hodgkin, who would win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1964.
History of Cobalt as Trace Element