Eldridge, Bethany M., Javvadi, Sree Gowrinadh, Perez-Moral, Natalia, Sweetman, Jessie, de Barros Dantas, Luíza Lane, Saha, Shikha, Lynch, Deirdre A., Hunt, Thomas, Clough, Sophie E., Toussaint, Jemal, and others. (2026) Addressing Vitamin B12 deficiency through aeroponic fortification of a salad crop (Pisum sativum). Communications Biology, 9 (1). Article Number 544. ISSN 2399-3642. (doi:10.1038/s42003-026-09764-y) (KAR id:113961)
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Language: English 
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| Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09764-y |
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Abstract
Plants do not produce Vitamin B12, creating a nutrient insufficiency risk for those who do not consume animal-derived foods without supplementation. Furthermore, various diseases cause Vitamin B12 deficiency. Here, we establish an approach for B12 dietary supplementation that harnesses a horticultural technology to deliver the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of B12 within a single portion of a salad crop (pea shoots). We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach in a commercial and scalable growing environment, conducted an economic evaluation, find that it has versatility for growers, does not alter the product shelf-life, and that the B12 persists during cold-chain storage. Furthermore, the RDA of B12 is bioaccessible from this crop during simulated human digestion. Taken together, this provides a commercially-viable approach for dietary supplementation of B12 intake, and a roadmap for the development and evaluation of fortification strategies.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| DOI/Identification number: | 10.1038/s42003-026-09764-y |
| Projects: | BBS/E/F/000PR13630 |
| Subjects: | Q Science |
| Institutional Unit: | Schools > School of Natural Sciences > Biosciences |
| Former Institutional Unit: |
There are no former institutional units.
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| Funders: |
UK Research and Innovation (https://ror.org/001aqnf71)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (https://ror.org/00cwqg982) Wellcome Trust (https://ror.org/029chgv08) Innovate UK (https://ror.org/05ar5fy68) Conseil européen de la recherche (https://ror.org/0472cxd90) |
| SWORD Depositor: | JISC Publications Router |
| Depositing User: | JISC Publications Router |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Apr 2026 08:20 UTC |
| Last Modified: | 22 Apr 2026 11:48 UTC |
| Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/113961 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
University of Kent Author Information
Warren, Martin.
| Creator's ORCID: |
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6028-6456
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