Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats
Vitamin B12 (B12) is present in foods of animal origin, and vegans are encouraged to take supplements with synthetic B12 in order to ensure a sufficient uptake. Recent rat studies suggest that natural (hydroxo-B12, HO-B12) and synthetic (cyano-B12, CN-B12) B12 behave differently in the body. Here, w...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/8/1096 |
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| author | Eva Greibe Ole Nymark Sergey N. Fedosov Christian W. Heegaard Ebba Nexo |
| author_facet | Eva Greibe Ole Nymark Sergey N. Fedosov Christian W. Heegaard Ebba Nexo |
| author_sort | Eva Greibe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vitamin B12 (B12) is present in foods of animal origin, and vegans are encouraged to take supplements with synthetic B12 in order to ensure a sufficient uptake. Recent rat studies suggest that natural (hydroxo-B12, HO-B12) and synthetic (cyano-B12, CN-B12) B12 behave differently in the body. Here, we test if a daily vitamin pill matches dietary B12 in ability to restore a low B12 status in rats. B12-depleted male Wistar rats (n = 60) were divided into five groups (n = 12 in each) and subjected to two weeks intervention with various schemes of B12 supplementation. Two “dietary” groups received a low-B12 chow that was fortified with either HO-B12 or CN-B12 providing a continuous supply. Two “pill” groups received a single daily dose of CN-B12, where the vitamin content either matched or exceeded by factor four the provisions for the “dietary” groups. A control group received the low-B12 chow without B12 fortification. B12 was measured in plasma and tissues. Dietary B12 provides 35% more B12 to the tissues than an equivalent single daily dose (p < 0.0001). Natural B12 delivers 25% more B12 to the liver than synthetic B12 (p = 0.0007). A fourfold increase in B12, supplemented as a single daily dose, does not provide any extra B12 to the tissues (p = 0.45). We conclude that dietary B12 is better at rescuing a low B12 status than a daily vitamin pill. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:09:46Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:09:46Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-33b4b18d35604bff917ad75e92d18c812022-12-22T02:40:17ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432018-08-01108109610.3390/nu10081096nu10081096Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in RatsEva Greibe0Ole Nymark1Sergey N. Fedosov2Christian W. Heegaard3Ebba Nexo4Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, DenmarkDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, DenmarkDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, DenmarkVitamin B12 (B12) is present in foods of animal origin, and vegans are encouraged to take supplements with synthetic B12 in order to ensure a sufficient uptake. Recent rat studies suggest that natural (hydroxo-B12, HO-B12) and synthetic (cyano-B12, CN-B12) B12 behave differently in the body. Here, we test if a daily vitamin pill matches dietary B12 in ability to restore a low B12 status in rats. B12-depleted male Wistar rats (n = 60) were divided into five groups (n = 12 in each) and subjected to two weeks intervention with various schemes of B12 supplementation. Two “dietary” groups received a low-B12 chow that was fortified with either HO-B12 or CN-B12 providing a continuous supply. Two “pill” groups received a single daily dose of CN-B12, where the vitamin content either matched or exceeded by factor four the provisions for the “dietary” groups. A control group received the low-B12 chow without B12 fortification. B12 was measured in plasma and tissues. Dietary B12 provides 35% more B12 to the tissues than an equivalent single daily dose (p < 0.0001). Natural B12 delivers 25% more B12 to the liver than synthetic B12 (p = 0.0007). A fourfold increase in B12, supplemented as a single daily dose, does not provide any extra B12 to the tissues (p = 0.45). We conclude that dietary B12 is better at rescuing a low B12 status than a daily vitamin pill.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/8/1096dietary vitamin B12vitamin pillshydroxocobalamincyanocobalamintissue distributionB12-depleted ratsvegan |
| spellingShingle | Eva Greibe Ole Nymark Sergey N. Fedosov Christian W. Heegaard Ebba Nexo Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats Nutrients dietary vitamin B12 vitamin pills hydroxocobalamin cyanocobalamin tissue distribution B12-depleted rats vegan |
| title | Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats |
| title_full | Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats |
| title_fullStr | Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats |
| title_short | Dietary Intake of Vitamin B12 is Better for Restoring a Low B12 Status Than a Daily High-Dose Vitamin Pill: An Experimental Study in Rats |
| title_sort | dietary intake of vitamin b12 is better for restoring a low b12 status than a daily high dose vitamin pill an experimental study in rats |
| topic | dietary vitamin B12 vitamin pills hydroxocobalamin cyanocobalamin tissue distribution B12-depleted rats vegan |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/8/1096 |
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