CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Consumption of soy products has increased greatly due to their beneficial health effect.However, soy does not contain vitamin B12 (B12), an important water-soluble vitamin vitalto prevent severe pathologies, some of which are irreversible. In this study a novel soymilkbeverage containing a compound with B12 activity-producer strain (Lactobacillus reuteri CRL1098) to prevent the pathologies caused by a B12-deficient diet was evaluated using anexperimental murine model. Pregnant females were divided into four groups. Besides theB12-deficient and the control group, the animals in the remaining two groups receivednon-fermented soymilk and soymilk fermented with L. reuteri CRL 1098 from the end of gestation to weaning. At the end of the trials, females and their corresponding offspring were sacrificed to determine haematological, immunological and histological parameters. The results showed that the administration of fermented soymilk prevented the developmentof all symptoms observed as a consequence of nutritional B12 deficiency both in femalesmice and in their respective offspring. The design of soybean-based functional food bio-fortified with vitamin using a lactobacilli strain able to produce compounds with B12 activity constitutes an interesting alternative therapy to prevent vitamin deficiency.