Dried Purple Laver (Nori) as a Food Source of Vitamin B12 in Vegetarians

Fu Jen Catholic University30 enrolled

Overview

This is an intervention study aiming to understand the bioavailability of vitamin B12 from nori for vegetarians.

Thirty vegetarian participants will be randomly assigned to one of three intervention arms: (1) 5g of nori (4 sheets, containing 2.4μg vitamin B12), (2) 8g nori (7 sheets, containing 4μg vitamin B12), (3) control group (no nori). At baseline and end of 4 weeks, participants will be measured on serum vitamin B12, methylmalonic acid, holotranscobalamin, homocysteine and folate.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

Interventions

Dried purple laver (Nori)OTHER

Dried purple laver (Nori) that has been test to have bioactivity vitamin B12 will be given for intervention groups.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 20 YearsMax age: 60 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Vegetarians (including vegan, ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian) * Duration of the vegetarian diet: at least 1 year * Aged 20-60 years old * Have not taken vitamin B12 or folate supplement within 1 year * Willing to adhere to study intervention and be tested for vitamin B12 related biomarkers. * Familiar with LINE application on smartphone Exclusion Criteria: * Any disease or surgery that affects the vitamin B12 status (Pernicious anemia, Gastrointestinal disease and surgery, Pancreatic diseases, Chronic kidney disease) * Hyperthyroidism * Previous adverse reaction to nori * Have taken antacid or metformin in the past 1 week * Alcoholic and not willing to abstinence from alcoholic beverages

Locations (1)

Department of Nutritional Science, Fu-Jen Catholic University

New Taipei City, Taiwan

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in holotranscobalamin in 4 weeks

Assessing the change in serum holotranscobalamin after consuming varying doses of nori

Time frame: 4 weeks (Week 4 - Baseline)

Change in methylmalonic acid in 4 weeks

Assessing the change in serum methylmalonic acid after consuming varying doses of nori

Time frame: 4 weeks (Week 4 - Baseline)

Secondary Outcomes

Change in serum vitamin B12 concentration in 4 weeks

Assessing the change in serum vitamin B12 after consuming varying doses of nori

Time frame: 4 weeks (Week 4 - Baseline)

Change in homocysteine in 4 weeks

Assessing the change in serum homocysteine after consuming varying doses of nori

Time frame: 4 weeks (Week 4 - Baseline)

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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