TY - GEN
T1 - Nutritional potential of UK and Irish seaweeds as a rich and natural source of dietary vitamin B12 for plant-based diets
AU - Xia, Xiaoxuan
AU - Theodoridou, Katerina
AU - Elliott, Christopher
AU - Situ, Chen
PY - 2023/11/29
Y1 - 2023/11/29
N2 - The presence of natural vitamin B12 (B12) in seaweed may hold a key role in addressing the increasingly prevalent B12 deficiency within the rapid expanding plant-based diet trend; however, content variability across regions remains unexplored. This study analysed B12 in twenty seaweed species from the UK and Ireland over two seasons using microbiological and UPLC-MS/MS methods. Species diversity predominantly influenced B12 content. Notably, Porphyra. spp, Palmaria palmitate, Ulva lactuca and Alaria esculenta exhibited substantial B12 levels (up to 63.73 μg/100 g of dry weight), with Osmundea pinnatifida revealing high B12 content for the first time. Significantly, methylcobalamin was the predominant bioactive B12 isoform among these species, with no pseudocobalamin detected. The impact of harvest site, season, and sample origin on B12 content was found to be species-specific. This study emphasizes the potential of UK and Irish seaweeds as a valuable and natural source of B12 for plant-based diets.
AB - The presence of natural vitamin B12 (B12) in seaweed may hold a key role in addressing the increasingly prevalent B12 deficiency within the rapid expanding plant-based diet trend; however, content variability across regions remains unexplored. This study analysed B12 in twenty seaweed species from the UK and Ireland over two seasons using microbiological and UPLC-MS/MS methods. Species diversity predominantly influenced B12 content. Notably, Porphyra. spp, Palmaria palmitate, Ulva lactuca and Alaria esculenta exhibited substantial B12 levels (up to 63.73 μg/100 g of dry weight), with Osmundea pinnatifida revealing high B12 content for the first time. Significantly, methylcobalamin was the predominant bioactive B12 isoform among these species, with no pseudocobalamin detected. The impact of harvest site, season, and sample origin on B12 content was found to be species-specific. This study emphasizes the potential of UK and Irish seaweeds as a valuable and natural source of B12 for plant-based diets.
M3 - Other contribution
ER -