Fermented foods and beverages: a potential in situ vitamin B12 biofortification – a literature review

Abstract

Millions of dollars have been increasingly spent on plant-based diets. Considering that vitamin B12 is obtained from the consumption of animal-derived foods, new sources of vitamin B12 and methods of food fortification are being eagerly sought. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate advances in situ fermentation processes of food and beverages produced on a large scale and industrial applications for obtaining cobalamin-rich products. Bibliometric analysis was performed and revealed that several studies report a great capacity for in situ biofortification of B12 in foods, mostly on the use of propionic (PB) and lactic (LAB) bacteria. In this context, market potentials for such products, the main microorganisms, including simultaneous cultures, and their respective applications have been presented herein. Although knowledge on potential applications is still limited, field research has been increasingly conducted, thus revealing scientific and technological opportunities, both for the production and the stability of B12 found in plant-based foods.

Graphical abstract

Keywords:

• Bibliometric analysis
• biosynthesis
• cobalamin
• fermentation
• plant-based

Disclosure statement

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with nor any involvement in no organisation or agency regarding any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or content discussed in this manuscript. The content of this manuscript has not been previously published and it is not under submission The authors have no competing interests as defined by Springer, or other interests that might be perceived to influence the results and/or discussion reported herein. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement at any organisation or agency regarding any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or content discussed herein.

Data availability statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed while the current study was being carried out.

Additional information

Funding

No funds, grants, or other support has been received to assist with the preparation and conducting of this manuscript.