Researchers Uncover Plant-Based B12 Breakthrough

A team of researchers at the University of Kent in England recently discovered that the herb common garden cress can be used to prevent cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency. The findings, published in scientific journal Cell Chemical Biology reveal that the vitamin—commonly taken in the form of plant-derived supplements by vegans—is readily available in the leaves of garden cress after the plant grows in a fortified growth medium. Previously, B12 was thought to be mostly produced by certain gut bacteria present in animals. “This finding may be important as a way to address the global challenge of providing a nutrient-complete vegetarian diet,” the researchers state, “a valuable development as the world becomes increasingly meat-free due to population expansion.”