B vitamins are a class of water-soluble
vitamins that play important roles in
cell metabolism. Though these vitamins share similar names, research shows that they are
chemically distinct vitamins that often coexist in the same foods. In general,
dietary supplements containing all eight are referred to as a
vitamin B complex. Individual B vitamin supplements are referred to by the specific name of each vitamin (e.g., B
1, B
2, B
3 etc.).