Vitamin & mineral deficiencies : An unknown quantity in bloodborne odors

Note : none of the following should be regarded as advice. It is posted only as something to think about. It should not be regarded as wholly accurate and is posted in the spirit of promoting discussion on it.

If someone has what is known on the forums as Fecal Body Odor, which can involve many differing smells, we can safely assume that something is 'not normal'. Obviously, it is important to make sure the metabolizing enzymes are functioning correctly, as well as looking for any reason for the metabolic enzymes being constantly overloaded, but another factor that may be being overlooked is vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Very often, these metabolic enzymes depend on a vitamin or mineral to function. As most of us know, the FMO3 enzyme requires riboflavin (B2). In theory, it would seem possible that a B2 deficiency could cause that enzyme to work deficiently (but there is no evidence to support this in practice). Another B vitamin involved less directly in FMO3 function is niacin (in its role of being the vitamin required for NADPH). It is unclear if this could be an issue in FMO3 function, since the experts do not seem to advise its use (perhaps NADPH is involved in so many reactions that a deficiency is unlikely. Niacin is also unpleasant in large doses). The status of the B Vitamins is probably a good starting point, since they are often co-factors in the drug metabolizing enzymes (the xenobiotic enzymes, of which the FMO family of enzymes are a part of). B Vitamins are also often produced by good gut bacteria. Biotin in particular.

The main point is, if someone smells of strange smells, longterm as a group it would make sense to be aware of the typical sufferer vitamin/mineral status to see if there is any deficiency trend. Hopefully someday this can be done in a research environment. At the moment it must be assumed it is not an issue (due to no test results or research available)

Reference links:
Vitamins and their coenzyme function : http://www.med.unibs.it/~marchesi/vitamins.html
Example of B2 being recommended for TMAU, although they are suggesting extra to try and stimulate any residual FMO3 enzyme to maximum effect.
http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/QnA.aspx?