Effect of Methylcobalamin and Cyanocobalamin Consumption on Vitamin B12 Nutritional Status

Summary

Vitamin B12 (B12, Cobalamin) is an essential micronutrient that humans are not capable of synthesizing and therefore must be ingested through food. In nature, B12 is basically only present in foods of animal origin.

B12 deficiency is a clinically important condition that is associated with several metabolic disorders such as megaloblastic anemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, and cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and neurological disorders. Therefore an optimal intake of B12 is important.

B12 deficiency occurs when B12 stores are depleted due to inadequate dietary intake or impaired absorption of B12. Because B12 is only present in foods of animal origin, following an unbalanced vegetarian diet is associated with increased risk of developing nutritional deficiencies due to the exclusion of meat and fish from their diet, including vitamin B12 deficiency.

There are a variety of forms of vitamin B12 used in vitamin B12 supplements. All these forms share the structure of Cobalamin but contain different ligands. Cyanocobalamin (CNCbl) is a synthetic, stable, and inexpensive form widely used in B12 supplements. MethylCobalamin (MeCbl) is a physiological form of cobalamin, called metabolically active form of vitamin B12. Interest in substituting CNCbl form with the physiological form MCbl has recently increased, assuming that it will be more effective.

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of Methylcobalamin consumption, compared to Cyanocobalamin consumption, on the nutritional status of vitamin B12 in a vegetarian population with marginal vitamin B12 deficiency.

The secondary objectives of the study are to evaluate the effects of Methylcobalamin consumption, compared to Cyanocobalamin consumption, on markers of vitamin B12 deficiency: Holotranscobalamin, Methylmalonic acid, Homocysteine and 4cB12.

During the study there will be 8 visits: a preselection visit (V0; day -7) and 7 study visits during the consumption of the treatments, which will take place on the first day of the study (V1; day 1), after 8 days of treatment (V2; day 8), at 15 days of treatment (V3; day 15), at 29 days of treatment (V4; day 29), at 43 days of treatment (V5; day 43), at 64 days of treatment (V6; day 64), and at 85 days of treatment (V7; day 85).

Conditions

• Vitamin B12 Nutritional Deficiency

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Methylcobalamin

Treatment with Methylcobalamin during 12 weeks

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Cyanocobalamin group

Treatment with Cyanocobalamin during 12 weeks

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Control group

Treatment with microcrystalline cellulose during 12 weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Laboratorio Echevarne

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Health Tech Bio Actives, S.L.U.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Fundació Eurecat

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Antoni Caimari, PhD · Fundació Eurecat

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-09-09

Primary Completion

2025-09-30

Completion

2025-09-30

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations