In June 2017, following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) derives dietary reference values (DRVs) for riboflavin.
An overview of dietary reference values (DRV) for riboflavin for adults is given in Table 1.
Table 1: Overview of Dietary Reference Values for riboflavin for adults | ||||||||
| D-A-CH (2015)(a) | NCM (2014)(a) | WHO/FAO (2004) | Afssa (2001) | NL (2000) | ION (1998) | SCF (1993) | DH (1991)(a) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | ≥ 19 | 18-30 | ≥ 19 | 20-74 | ≥ 19 | ≥ 19 | ≥ 18 | ≥ 19 |
| PRI men (mg/day) | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| PRI women (mg/day) | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
An overview of DRVs for riboflavin for children is given in Table 2.
| Table 2: Overview of Dietary Reference Values for riboflavin for children | ||||||||
| D-A-CH (2015)(a) | NCM (2014)(a) | WHO/FAO (2004) | Afssa (2001) | NL (2000)(b) | ION (1998) | SCF (1993) | DH (1991)(a) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (months) | 4-12 | 6-11 | 0-6 | 0-12 | 6-11 | 0-6 | 6-11 | 7-9 |
| PRI (mg/day) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Age (years) | 1-4 | 1-<2 | 7-12 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 7-12 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| PRI (mg/day) | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4(a) | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Age (years) | 4-7 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 4-6 | 4-8 | 1-3 | 4-6 | 4-6 |
| PRI (mg/day) | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Age (years) | 7-10 | 6-9 | 4-6 | 7-9 | 9-13 | 4-8 | 7-10 | 7-10 |
| PRI Boys (mg/day) | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| PRI Girls (mg/day) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| Age (years) | 10-13 | 10-13 | 7-9 | 10-12 | 14-18 | 11-14 | 11-14 | |
| PRI Boys (mg/day) | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | |
| PRI Girls (mg/day) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | |
| Age (years) | 13-15 | 14-17 | 10-18 | 13-15 | 9-13 | 15-17 | 15-18 | |
| PRI Boys (mg/day) | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | |
| PRI Girls (mg/day) | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.1 | ||
| Age (years) | 15-19 | 16-19 | 14-18 | |||||
| PRI Boys (mg/day) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.3 | |||||
| PRI Girls (mg/day) | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | |||||
D-A-CH: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, Österreuchische Gesellschaft für Ernährung, Scheizerische gesellschaft für Ernährung; NCM: Nordic Council of Ministers; WHO/FAO: World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Afssa: Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments; NL: Health Council of the Netherlands; IOM: US Institute of Medicine; SCF: Scientific Committee on Food; DH: UK Department of Health.
(a): DRVs in mg/day obtained from the DRVs in mg/MJ and the respective energy requirement.
(b): AI.
An overview of DRVs for riboflavin for pregnant or lactating women is given in Table 3.
| Table 1: Overview of Dietary Reference Values for riboflavin for pregnant or lactating women | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-A-CH (2015)(a) | NCM (2014) | WHO/FAO (2004) | Afssa (2001) | NL (2000) | ION (1998) | SCF (1993) | DH (1991) | |
| PRI Pregnancy (mg/day) | 1.3 (2nd trimester) 1.4 (3rd trimester) | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| PRI Lactation (mg/day) | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
D-A-CH: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, Österreuchische Gesellschaft für Ernährung, Scheizerische gesellschaft für Ernährung; NCM: Nordic Council of Ministers; WHO/FAO: World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Afssa: Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments; NL: Health Council of the Netherlands; IOM: US Institute of Medicine; SCF: Scientific Committee on Food; DH: UK Department of Health.
(a): DRVs in mg/day obtained from the DRVs in mg/MJ and the respective energy requirement.
Finally, the Panel calculates an adequate intake (AI) for riboflavin for infants aged 7–11 months of 0.4 mg/day (table 4).
| Age | Reference body weight (kg) | AI (mg/day) |
|---|---|---|
| 7-11 months | 8.6(a) | 0.4 |
(a): Average of the median weight-for-age of male or female infants, respectively, aged nine months according to the WHO Growth Standards (WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group, 2006).
As for adults, the Panel considered unnecessary to set sex-specific average requirements (AR) and population reference intakes (PRI) for boys and girls of all ages.
| Age | Reference body weight (kg) | Calculated ARs (mg/day) | Calculated PRIs (mg/day) | Proposed PRIs (f) (mg/day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Mean |
| 1-3 years | 12.2(a) | 11.5(a) | 0.46 | 0.49 |
| 4-6 years | 19.2(b) | 18.7(b) | 0.55 | 0.60 |
| 7-10 years | 29.0(c) | 28.4(c) | 0.80 | 0.88 |
| 11-14 years | 44.0(d) | 45.1(d) | 1.07 | 1.19 |
| 15-17 years | 64.1(e) | 56.4(e) | 1.38 | 1.34 |
(a): Average of the median weight-for-age of male or female infants, respectively, aged nine months according to the WHO Growth Standards (WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group, 2006).
(b) Average of the median weight of male or female children aged 5 years (van Buuren et al., 2012).
(c) Average of the median weight of male or female children aged 8.5 years (van Buuren et al., 2012).
(d) Average of the median weight of male or female children aged 12.5 years (van Buuren et al., 2012).
(e) Average of the median weight of male or female children aged 16 years (van Buuren et al., 2012).
(f) Values for PRIs were calculated based on the unrounded ARs and rounded to the nearest one decimal place.
Conclusions
The Panel concludes that ARs and PRIs for riboflavin for adults can be derived from the weighted mean of riboflavin intake associated with the inflection point in the urinary riboflavin excretion curve reported in four intervention studies in non-EU countries. The Panel considers that the potential effect of physical activity and of MTHFR 677TT genotype on riboflavin requirement is covered by the data presented.
| Age | Average requirement (mg/day) | Population reference intake (mg/day) (a) |
| 7-11 months | - | - |
| 1-3 years | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| 4-6 years | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| 7-10 years | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| 11-14 years | 1.1 | 1.4 |
| 15-17 years | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| ≥18 years | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Pregnancy | 1.5 | 1.9 |
| Lactation | 1.7 | 2.0 |
(a): Values for ARs and PRIs are rounded to the closest one decimal place in this table. PRI are calculated with unrounded AR values (e.g. for adolescents and adults: 1.36 and 1.34).
(b) Adequate Intake.
For a detailed overview of recommended daily intakes (PRIs/RDAs) of vitamins and minerals for adults derived from different countries and organizations see http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4919.
Authored by Dr Peter Engel in 2010, reviewed by Hasan Mohajeri on 01.09.2017
