German cosmetics company Sante, with the help of the German Vegetarian Society, has created a toothpaste that is enriched with organic vitamin B12, according to an article in Gizmag.
Finding sources of B12 can be difficult for vegans, and the results of a recent study concluded that the toothpaste is an effective delivery system for it, VEBU noted.
In the course of the five-week study, 170 healthy vegans and vegetarians between the ages of 18 and 64 abstained from consuming fortified foods with vitamins B6, B12, or folic acid, and did not take supplements. Half of the subjects used the toothpaste, while the remainder used a placebo. At the end of the study, the researchers compared blood samples from all participants taken before and after the five-week period.
Those who used the toothpaste experienced an increase of serum vitamin B12 in their blood by nearly 50%, the article stated, while the placebo group saw a 22% decrease. The placebo group also saw an increase of 65% for holotranscobalamin, a marker of vitamin B12 depletion.
Dentifrice delivers 100 µg of vitamin B12 per gram of toothpaste and provides more than the 2.4 µg recommended per day when users brush twice, according to the article.
