B12 in (organic) spinach, barley and soy

From http://web.archive.org/web/200103100...r/boshart2.htm

"Mozafar, A. 1994. Enrichment of some B-vitamins in plants with application of organic fertilizers. Plant and Soil 167:305-311.

Organic food suppliers often claim that organic foods grown on soils with natural fertilizers have a better nutritional value than foods grown with inorganic fertilizers. Although past studies, such as those published by Gray and Daniel in 1959 or by Leclerc and colleagues in 1991, have shown that organically grown produce had more vitamins, it was unclear if the plants synthesized them or got them from the soil. In order to test the origins of vitamins in plants, this researcher selected vitamin B12 for study. This was because plants cannot manufacture it but microorganisms can. In addition, large amounts of B12 are found in animal manure, a commonly used organic fertilizer. This study looked at whether plants, specifically soybeans, barley, and spinach, grown on soils amended with pure B12 or B12 in manure would have a higher B12 content than plants grown with inorganic fertilizers. All plants contained a minimal amount of B12 in the inorganically fertilized soil.

Barley showed a threefold increase of B12 in the harvested grain in both the pure B12 treatment (10.8 ng/g dry weight) and the manure treatment (9.1 ng/g dry weight). In spinach leaves, B12 increased twofold in the manure treatment (17.8 ng/g dry weight) and 34-fold in the pure B12 treatment (235 ng/g dry weight). Soybeans had a similar, but not as dramatic trend. In addition, soil samples in fields receiving manure over several years contained more B12 than those only receiving inorganic fertilizers. These results show that B12 levels can be increased in organically grown food through the use of manure fertilizers. This is good news for vegetarians, who often have trouble getting enough B12 in their diets. It is also good news for consumers who buy organic food because of its better nutritional value. While this preliminary trial does seem to indicate that vitamins can be absorbed from the soil, more studies should be done with other vitamins to confirm these observations.

Abstract Author: Margaret Boshart, 21 October 1997. "

Here's an article referring to the same studies:

B12 Breakthrough - Missing Nutrient Found in Plants

B12 analogues are found both in plants, multivitamins and animal products, but the Mozafar studies didn't differentiate between active B12 and B12 analogues (which by the way is normal - references about B12 levels in animal products normally don't differentiate between the two either.)

Here's a study that documents that B12 is present in plants if the seeds are soaked in a solution containing B12. Now, this probably don't document much more than that plants/seeds may absorb B12 - but combined with these facts:

• B12 comes from bacteria/microorganisms + cobalt
• B12 occurs naturally in water and soil
• Modern farming methods use pesticides, fertilizers (etc) that may reduce the B12 levels in the soil
• Even organic plants are normally washed and cooked in chlorinated water
• Several types of bacteria are known to increase the B12 levels in plant based food (through fermentation)

...it definitely looks like plants soil, water, plants and therefore plant based food contained a lot more B12 only a few hundred years ago than it does today.

The 'synthetic-ness' of the modern world may be the reason that B12 becomes an problem for everyone, and now, artificial ways to increase the B12 levels in plants are being patented - look here: Someone is trying to patent a way to increase B12 levels in plants. B12 is big business - methods to produce B12 synthetically is also patented.

If this would have been a Hollywood movie, we'd find out that the guys who patent ways to mass produce B12 are the same people who produce all the synthetic stuff that kills B12...

According to this information, "Shaukat-Ahmed and Evans (6) reported that Ochromonas assay of nodules from soya bean plants supplied intermittently with 0.05 p.p.m. of cobalt indicated the presence of 519 mcg vitamin B12 per g of fresh nodules. By enzymatic assay, Kliewer and Evans (7) found appreciable amounts of vitamin B12 co-enzyme(s) in the nodules of various legumes grown in the presence of the above level of cobalt - circa 30 years before Mozafar's study. As usual, accurate information about the ratio between inactive B12 analogues and active, bioavailable B12 is missing. If anyone has a few million $ around they don't know what to do with, please let send me a PM. :-) This planet needs a lab that can perform proper studies on useful active, bioavailable B12 - not only in plants, but in everything humans consume that is said to contain B12!