Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is one of those vitamins we don’t hear much about in petfood production. Unlike with several other vitamins, the requirement for dogs and cats has been relatively well researched, it hasn’t been implicated in unfounded controversy and petfood manufacturers fortify foods to the necessary level with relative ease. However, this lack of “noise” in the vitamin aisle shouldn’t be confused with a lack of importance, because riboflavin is positioned at the very heart of healthy metabolism.
Riboflavin derives its name from two significant facets of its molecular structure: a sugar (ribose) and a three-ring isoalloxazine structure (flavin). The flavin component fluoresces to a bold yellow color when exposed to ultraviolet light. This was in part how the compound was first discovered and has been exploited ever since to measure riboflavin levels. The ribose portion is where the molecule is phosphorylated to produce the functional co-enzymes.
