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Session: Meeting Nutrient Needs in a Changing Environment (Oral 3)

(OR03-03-24) Alternative Food Sources of Vitamin B12 As Potential Nutritional Strategy To Prevent and Treat a Deficiency: A Systematic Review

Saturday, June 29, 2024
3:24 PM – 3:36 PM CT
Location:  W183
ECRAC

    Presenting Author(s)

  • CD

    Cristian Del Bo', PhD (he/him/his)

    Associate Professor
    Division of Human Nutrition, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, University of Milan
    Milan, Lombardia, Italy

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Daniela Martini, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Associate Professor
    University of Milan
    milan, Lombardia, Italy

  • CI

    Christian Infantino

    University of Milan
    Milan, Lombardia, Italy

  • MM

    Mirko Marino, PhD

    Assistant Professor
    Università degli Studi di Milano, Division of Human Nutrition, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS)
    Milan, Lombardia, Italy

  • PB

    Paola Biscotti

    University of Milan
    Milan, Lombardia, Italy

  • MP

    Marisa Porrini

    University of Milan
    Milan, Lombardia, Italy

  • PR

    Patrizia Riso

    Professor of Human Nutrition
    University of Milan
    Sesto San Giovanni, Lombardia, Italy

Objectives: The transition towards a more sustainable food system leads to the reduction of animal food products consumption in favour of plant-based foods. This shift could imply a reduced intake of some specific nutrients, such as vitamin B12, with an increased risk of developing a deficiency in the long term. The objective of this systematic review was to summarize the most identified alternative food sources of vitamin B12 and provide, when available, evidence on its bioavailability.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA protocol. The research was carried out by using PubMed, Scopus and EMBASE databases. Studies were eligible whether published from January 2000 to December 2023, food sources were characterized for vitamin B12 content and evidence on the bioavailability of the vitamin were provided.

Results: A total of 72 out of 2637 papers identified were eligible and analyzed. Seaweeds, mushrooms, and insects appeared as the most candidate alternative food sources of vitamin B12. The concentrations ranged from 3 to 60 µg/100 g dry weight (DW) for seaweeds, 0.7-7 µg/100 g DW for mushrooms and 0.5-24 µg/100 g DW for insects. Some plant-based fermented drinks have shown to be a valuable source of vitamin B12 (up to 150 µg/100 mL) when produced by using bacterial strains belonging to the Lactobacillus genus. Studies investigating the bioavailability of vitamin B12 were mainly carried out in animal models, while human studies were few and focused on seaweed supplementation showing an improvement in vitamin B12 status in vegans.

Conclusions: Algae, fungi, plant-based fermented products and insects could represent possible alternative sources of vitamin B12. However, data on the bioavailability of vitamin B12 from these products are very limited. Further research is needed to verify whether these sources can represent a valid alternative to animal food products by contributing to the achievement of the nutritional needs for vitamin B12.

Funding Sources: This work is part of the SYSTEMIC project funded within the call “Knowledge Hub on Food and Nutrition Security” (ERA-HDHL), granted by Mipaaf (MIMOSA project) and had a contribution from the project “One Health Action Hub: University Task Force for the resilience of territorial ecosystems” funded by Università degli Studi di Milano.