Microalgae/cyanobacteria: the potential green future of vitamin B₁₂ production

Abstract

This review summarizes the available information about potential sources of vitamin B₁₂, especially for people who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet and inhabitants of poor countries in the developing world. Cyanobacteria and microalgae approved for food purposes can play a critical role as promising and innovative sources of this vitamin. This work involves a discussion of whether the form of vitamin B₁₂ extracted from microalgae/cyanobacteria is biologically available to humans, specifically focusing on the genera Arthrospira and Chlorella. It describes analyses of their biomass composition, cultivation requirements, and genetic properties in B₁₂ production. Furthermore, this review discusses the function of cobalamin in microalgae and cyanobacteria themselves and the possibility of modification and cocultivation to increase the content of B₁₂ in their biomass.

Keywords:

• Arthrospira
• B12
• Chlorella
• cobalamin
• cyanobacteria
• green microalgae

Author contributions

Manuscript preparation: MD, MK, OK, AJ; manuscript reviewing and editing: VA, DH.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Internal Grand Agency of Mendel University in Brno AF-IGA2022-IP-036.