What Does a Cobalt Deficiency Cause?

November 30, 2025 •

3 min read

According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, if you have a cobalt deficiency, you also have a vitamin B12 deficiency, as cobalt is a crucial component of B12. This critical link means a cobalt deficiency can trigger a range of serious health problems in both humans and animals.

Quick Summary

A cobalt deficiency is fundamentally a vitamin B12 deficiency, leading to severe anemia, neurological damage, poor growth, and weakened immunity in humans and ruminant animals.

Key Points

Cobalt's Role: Cobalt is the core mineral component of vitamin B12, so a deficiency in one leads to a deficiency in the other.
Human Symptoms: Human deficiency can cause pernicious anemia, fatigue, numbness, vision problems, and cognitive issues due to B12's impact on blood and nerve function.
Ruminant Impact: Ruminants (cattle, sheep) cannot synthesize B12 from cobalt in their rumen, leading to 'pining' disease, poor growth, wasting, and weak immunity.
Primary Cause (Livestock): The main cause of cobalt deficiency in livestock is grazing on pastures with soil that is naturally low in cobalt.
Primary Cause (Humans): In humans, malabsorption issues or restricted diets (like veganism) are the most common causes of B12/cobalt deficiency.
Severe Consequences: Severe deficiencies can cause serious damage, including ovine white liver disease in sheep and potential nerve damage in humans.
Treatment Approach: Treatment involves direct B12 injections or oral cobalt supplementation, depending on the species and severity.

The Crucial Link Between Cobalt and Vitamin B12

The primary function of cobalt in biological systems is its role as a key component of vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin. As a result, a true cobalt deficiency is synonymous with a vitamin B12 deficiency. The consequences of this deficiency are widespread and affect both human and animal health, though the causes and severity can differ significantly.

What a Cobalt Deficiency Causes in Humans

Cobalt deficiency is rare in adults with a healthy, balanced diet but can occur due to specific conditions or dietary choices, such as a strict vegan diet without supplementation. Low birth weight infants and those with malabsorption issues are also at higher risk. The resulting B12 deficiency can manifest in numerous ways, impacting the nervous system, blood cell production, and energy metabolism.

Common symptoms in humans include:

Severe fatigue and weakness
Neurological symptoms like tingling and numbness in the hands and feet (paresthesia)
Pernicious anemia, a condition that causes a decrease in red blood cells
Memory loss, cognitive decline, and mood changes
Vision disturbances
Sore or swollen tongue and mouth ulcers
Digestive issues like bloating and diarrhea

What a Cobalt Deficiency Causes in Ruminants

For ruminant animals like sheep, cattle, and goats, the cause and effect are more direct. Their rumen microbes are responsible for synthesizing vitamin B12 from dietary cobalt. When grazing on cobalt-deficient pastures, they cannot produce enough B12, leading to a condition commonly known as 'pining' or 'wasting disease'. Young animals are particularly susceptible.

Manifestations in livestock include:

Ill-thrift: Reduced appetite, poor growth rates, and weight loss, even with adequate forage.
Anemia: Pale mucous membranes and a lack of energy due to decreased red blood cell production.
Poor Immunity: Increased susceptibility to infections and parasitic infestations.
Reproductive Issues: Reduced fertility in ewes and poor offspring viability.
White Liver Disease: A severe liver dysfunction observed in sheep, where the liver becomes pale, swollen, and friable.
Neurological Signs: In severe cases, sheep may show signs like depression, head pressing, and aimless wandering.

Causes of Cobalt Deficiency

The root cause of deficiency varies depending on the species. For ruminants, it is nearly always a lack of cobalt in the soil, which leads to inadequate levels in the pasture grass. For humans, malabsorption is a more common trigger than dietary insufficiency.

Key causes include:

Soil Type: Sandy, leached soils or those with a high pH (over-liming) reduce cobalt availability for plants.
Dietary Intake: In humans, vegan diets that lack B12 supplementation are a risk factor. In ruminants, grazing on deficient pastures is the primary cause.
Malabsorption: Poor nutrient absorption in the gut, which can be caused by parasites, gut disorders like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), or certain medications.
Nutrient Competition: High levels of other minerals, such as iron, can interfere with cobalt absorption.

Comparison: Human vs. Ruminant Deficiency Effects


Feature	Humans	Ruminants (e.g., Sheep, Cattle)
Core Mechanism	Insufficient intake or absorption of vitamin B12.	Inadequate ruminal B12 synthesis from dietary cobalt.
Primary Cause	Malabsorption, dietary factors (veganism).	Grazing on pastures with low soil cobalt content.
Key Symptoms	Anemia, neurological issues, fatigue, memory loss.	'Wasting' disease (poor growth), anemia, immune suppression, liver damage.
Neurological Impact	Numbness, tingling, mood changes, cognitive decline.	In severe cases, stumbling, head pressing, aimless wandering (ovine white liver syndrome).
Treatment Focus	Vitamin B12 supplementation (oral or injections).	Cobalt supplementation (boluses, drenches) and/or B12 injections.

Treatment and Prevention

Treatment depends on the species and severity. In humans, B12 injections are used for severe deficiencies, while oral supplements can manage milder cases. For livestock, treatment can involve B12 injections for immediate effect or long-term strategies like slow-release cobalt boluses to provide a steady supply. For prevention in agriculture, pasture management and mineral supplementation are key.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a cobalt deficiency is a serious condition that directly results in a functional vitamin B12 deficiency. The health consequences are profound and vary depending on whether the affected organism is a human or a ruminant animal. In humans, it leads to a host of neurological and anemic symptoms. In livestock, it results in a 'wasting' disease that severely impacts growth, immunity, and overall productivity, sometimes causing death. Understanding the causes—from soil quality to dietary choices—is crucial for effective diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Whether managing human health or a livestock herd, addressing cobalt deficiency means addressing the underlying B12 imbalance.

Signs Of Cobalt Deficiency - Upgraded Formulas®

Frequently Asked Questions

For humans, a cobalt deficiency effectively means a vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency, since cobalt is an integral part of the B12 molecule and the body does not use free cobalt. In ruminant animals, a dietary cobalt deficiency prevents their rumen microbes from synthesizing B12, leading to a functional B12 deficiency.

Early symptoms in humans often include fatigue, weakness, pale skin, shortness of breath, headaches, and numbness or tingling in the hands and feet. These are common signs of anemia related to vitamin B12 deficiency.

In sheep, cobalt deficiency, often called 'pining,' causes lethargy, reduced appetite, poor growth, low-quality wool, and a weakened immune system. Severe cases can lead to liver damage known as 'white liver disease' and neurological signs.

Cobalt deficiency in soil is common in certain geographic areas, particularly on deep, sandy, or leached soils. High soil pH due to over-liming can also reduce the availability of cobalt to plants.

Diagnosis typically involves measuring vitamin B12 levels in blood or liver tissue. Testing for elevated levels of methylmalonic acid (MMA) in the blood or urine is also a sensitive indicator.

Treatment for livestock can include oral drenches of cobalt sulphate, slow-release intraruminal cobalt pellets, or vitamin B12 injections for a more immediate response. Feed additives with supplemental cobalt are also used.

Yes, since cobalt is consumed through vitamin B12, and B12 is primarily found in animal products, a strict vegan diet without B12 supplementation is a known risk factor for deficiency. This is because vegan diets inherently lack dietary B12.