Improvement of vitamin B ₁₂ status with <i>Spirulina</i> supplementation in Wistar rats validated through functional and circulatory markers

Abstract

Spirulina evaluated as a source of vitamin B₁₂ through the modulation of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency mediated physiological and biochemical changes in experimental animals. The B₁₂ deficient male weanling Wistar rats were fed with Spirulina-supplemented diet for 10 weeks. An increase in urinary methylmalonic acid (22.70 ± 4.08 µmol/moles of creatinine) and plasma homocysteine (16.55 ± 0.48 µmol/L) levels in the B₁₂ deficient group was observed, while these were equal to control in the Spirulina fed group (8.71 ± 0.48 µmol/mol of creatinine and 6.88 ± 1.18 µmol/L, respectively). The vitamin B₁₂ levels in serum (874.27 ± 89.69), plasma (615.53 ± 26.5 pg/ml), kidney (10.19 ± 1.066 ng/g), and liver tissues (6.37 ± 0.62 ng/g) in the Spirulina fed group were similar to control. Severe atrophic changes in the testes and altered tissue architecture in lung and spleen as seen in the B₁₂ deficient group were normalized in the Spirulina fed group. The study validates that Spirulina can improve the vitamin B₁₂ status. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The present study showed that the supplementation of Spirulina in the diet of vitamin B₁₂ deficient rats leads to the normalization of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency-induced circulatory and functional biomarkers along with biochemical and histological changes. Vegetarian sources for vitamin B₁₂ are limited and the results presented here provide scientific validation for the use of Spirulina as a potential vegetarian source of bioavailable vitamin B₁₂ .