Vitamin B: Eight Unsung Heroes, Longing for Attention

People following an undiversified diet can have a deficiency of micronutrients and health-promoting molecules, including the vitamin B complex. Humans cannot biosynthesize the water-soluble B vitamins de novo, so they depend on dietary plant and animal sources for their uptake. Each B vitamin can be transformed into a crucial enzyme cofactor for the metabolism of various compounds, including other B vitamins, with levels of many vitamins impacted even if one is deficient. The disorders caused by severe B vitamin insufficiency, like beriberi and pellagra, have been reduced due to food fortification initiatives for the populations they serve. Several efforts have been made for their production in plants and subsequent utilization for human health improvement. Biofortification efforts aiming to improve B-vitamin content of the edible portion of crops include genetic diversity studies and engineering approaches. Along the way this serves to increase knowledge by unraveling plant B-vitamin metabolism, thereby considering plant gene structure and molecular pathways for biosynthesis, manipulation, and compartmentalization in plant cells. Researchers have targeted several crops to enhance vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B9, but more research is required for the other vitamins B3, B5, and B7. This article provides information on knowledge gained for B vitamins sources, types, biofortification strategies, and challenges.