German vegan toothpaste delivers B12

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.