Vitamin B12 Status Upon Short-Term Intervention with a Vegan Diet—A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Participants

Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, Medical Center—University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department of General Pediatrics, Medical Center—University of Freiburg, Adolescent Medicine and Neonatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

Institute of Pharmacology of Natural Products & Clinical Pharmacology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany

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Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Medical Center—University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

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Center of Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI), Medical Center—University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

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Institute of Immunology, Section Molecular Immunology, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

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Equally contributed.

Nutrients 2019, 11(11), 2815; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112815

Received: 24 October 2019 / Revised: 6 November 2019 / Accepted: 13 November 2019 / Published: 18 November 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vegetarian, Vegan Diets and Human Health)

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Abstract

Vegans are at an increased risk for certain micronutrient deficiencies, foremost of vitamin B₁₂. Little is known about the short-term effects of dietary change to plant-based nutrition on vitamin B₁₂ metabolism. Systemic biomarkers of vitamin B₁₂ status, namely, serum vitamin B₁₂ and holotranscobalamin, may respond quickly to a reduced intake of vitamin B₁₂. To test this hypothesis, 53 healthy omnivore subjects were randomized to a controlled unsupplemented vegan diet (VD, n = 26) or meat-rich diet (MD, n = 27) for 4 weeks. Vitamin B₁₂ status was examined by measurement of serum vitamin B₁₂, holotranscobalamin (holo-TC), methylmalonic acid (MMA) and total plasma homocysteine (tHcy). Holo-TC decreased significantly in the VD compared to the MD group after four weeks of intervention, whereas metabolites MMA and tHcy were unaffected. Body weight remained stable in both groups. VD intervention led to a significant reduction of cholesterol intake, and adequate profiles of nutrient and micronutrient status. Lower intake of vitamin B₁₂ was observed in VD, which was mirrored by a lower concentration of serum vitamin B₁₂ and reduced holo-TC after 4 weeks. Plasma holo-TC may be a fast-responding biomarker to monitor adequate supply of vitamin B₁₂ in plant-based individuals. View Full-Text

Keywords: vegan nutrition; holotranscobalamin; fatty acids; vitamin B₁₂; micronutrient

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lederer, A.-K.; Hannibal, L.; Hettich, M.; Behringer, S.; Spiekerkoetter, U.; Steinborn, C.; Gründemann, C.; Zimmermann-Klemd, A.M.; Müller, A.; Simmet, T.; Schmiech, M.; Maul-Pavicic, A.; Samstag, Y.; Huber, R. Vitamin B12 Status Upon Short-Term Intervention with a Vegan Diet—A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Participants. Nutrients 2019, 11, 2815. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112815

AMA Style

Lederer A-K, Hannibal L, Hettich M, Behringer S, Spiekerkoetter U, Steinborn C, Gründemann C, Zimmermann-Klemd AM, Müller A, Simmet T, Schmiech M, Maul-Pavicic A, Samstag Y, Huber R. Vitamin B12 Status Upon Short-Term Intervention with a Vegan Diet—A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Participants. Nutrients. 2019; 11(11):2815. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112815

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lederer, Ann-Kathrin, Luciana Hannibal, Manuel Hettich, Sidney Behringer, Ute Spiekerkoetter, Carmen Steinborn, Carsten Gründemann, Amy Marisa Zimmermann-Klemd, Alexander Müller, Thomas Simmet, Michael Schmiech, Andrea Maul-Pavicic, Yvonne Samstag, and Roman Huber. 2019. "Vitamin B12 Status Upon Short-Term Intervention with a Vegan Diet—A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Participants" Nutrients 11, no. 11: 2815. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112815

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Vitamin B12 Status Upon Short-Term Intervention with a Vegan Diet—A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Participants

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