These are a group of water-soluble vitamins that are not stored in the body and therefore have to be present in the diet on a continuous basis. While folic acid deficiency may be seen with severe malnutrition and intestinal parasites, only niacin deficiency is common in some areas in South Africa. Deficiencies of the other group B vitamins are rare.
The other group B vitamins are thiamine, riboflavin, B12 and pyridoxine. Folate can be added to basic foods to reduce the prevalence of neural tube defect in newborn infants.