Another B complex factor that has an unclear status as a B vitamin is the compound called inositol. While the specifics of this vitamin’s action in the human body remains a mystery, experiments conducted on animals have resulted in the identification of this compound as a necessary factor for the normal growth and survival of organisms. Large amounts of the compound inositol can be found in the skeletal and heart muscles, in organs like the lungs, liver and brain, in blood, in milk and related dairy products, in urine and in eggs. The actual metabolic role of the compound inositol in these tissues and the other types of tissues is still a mystery.
The probability of practical applications of the inositol is indicated by the results obtained from some clinical research carried out on the functioning of inositol in the human body. In addition, a lot of animal experiments have shown that raising the dietary levels of inositol can help in the prevention of the decrease in motor nerve conduction resulting from degeneration in the nerve insulation as a symptom of diseases such as diabetes. A similar effect is also seen during the use of supplements of inositol as part of the dietary intake in humans who are confirmed diabetics. As a general rule, the nerve conduction is generally better the more inositol present in the diet - usually a maximum of 1400 mg per person daily. Nerve conduction is the lowest whenever people consume a diet that is deficient in levels of inositol. If the diet was deficient in the vitamin, then the consumption of a diet considered sufficient in inositol resulted in improved nerve conduction, this improvement did not match the improvement seen in patients on a supplemented diet of inositol.
The potential of using supplements of inositol against certain forms of cancer affected tissues has also been acknowledged by clinical researchers. During one animal test, the use of intravenous injections of inositol led to the inhibition of tumor growth in laboratory mice. The dosage of the inositol used in the injections determined the degree of inhibition, if the dose was high than the inhibitive effect was greater and vice versa. A human experiment conducted by one doctor was to give high doses of inositol - at doses of 3 to 4 grams a day - to people affected by advanced cases of cancer in the genitourinary tract. This beneficial effect apparently failed to be evident in at least seven people affected by terminal malignancies in the penis, the prostate gland, as well as the testicles. However, at least six cases of people with bladder cancer benefited from the dosage of inositol. In these patients, the size of the tumors decreased, and the treatment resulted in the disappearance of hematuria - blood in the urine.