Victor,

Thank you for your kind words and for the links to those papers. I’ve mostly given up on reporting research that detects vitamin B12 in a plant food (or in algae or fungi). It’s just too time-consuming. I still report if the research measures the food’s impact on methylmalonic acid levels.

I’d be surprised if there will ever be a time when I think it’s worthwhile to eat a supplemental food product for B12 rather than to simply take B12 supplements. Supplements are inexpensive and reliable, whereas potential plant sources have uncertain variables. I’d rather take the supplement directly than pay more to run the B12 through a plant. That might not be a perfect description in all cases, but close enough.

Secondly, I’d like to ask wether you looked at the research made on Sea Buckthorn and B12. It seems quite promising. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283944530_Determination_of_Vitamin_B12_in_Sea_Buckthorn_Hippophaes_rhamnoides
It seems like many actinorrizals may have a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria Frankia, which produce B12. The plants not only absorb it but produce B12 themselves through bacterial activity inside them I believe. There’s even less research on other actinorizas and B12 but they’d be interesting to investigate.

Thirdly, there’s a study that uses digestate (anaerobically decomposed plant matter) as a medium to grow chlorella and got a B12 in the chlorella up to 10 micrograms per gram https://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/news/vitamin-b12-containing-algae-boosts-fertiliser-digestate-potential

Lastly, I wanted to ask, given your long-lasting research into the topic of B12 in plants, how far away in time do you see the consolidation of a body of research that is enough for a natural vegan source to be considered a reliable B12 source?

(PD: I take my supplements, I’m just interested for self-sufficient/low-tech community building reasons)

Dalibor,

The results of that study, Sea lettuce (Ulva fenestrata) as a rich source of cobalamin (vitamin B12), are impressive enough for me to add U. fenestrata to this article, which I’ll move toward the top of my to-do list. But it’s not enough to promote sea lettuce as a recommended source of B12. As the authors state in their concluding sentence, “Nevertheless, bioavailability trials are necessary to determine the extent to which vitamin B12 from these products is absorbed and reaches systemic circulation.”

Thank you for point me to this study!

This?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814625015535

D,

I updated this page in November of 2024, but forgot to change the Last Updated date at the bottom. However, I don’t update this article unless research comes out that I think is relevant enough to justify it. You don’t provide any research to back up your claims that I’m wrong about anything (or everything?) in this article. If there is research to suggest I’m wrong, I want to know about it.

I receive no money from any supplement company—my only goal here is to make sure vegans have the most accurate information possible. I’ve been a vegan since 1988, I’ve read hundreds of studies on vitamin B12 and vegans, and I take a multivitamin with B12 every day.

I think you are full of BS.. it almost seems like you are trying to sell b12 supplements, and push a contrived narrative to justify it.

I think its time you update this info. 5 years was a long time ago, and the narrative has shifted, in a way that doesnt not warrant your denials of adequacy in non animal product sources of b12 and other analogues

I don’t look into plant foods that might have B12 until there’s been research published about them. If you find some research, please pass it on.

Mykyta,

I cover it in the section on Nori above: https://veganhealth.org/vitamin-b12/vitamin-b12-plant-foods/#nori