Vitamin B12 Water-soluble Feed Additive

González-Montaña, Jose-Ramiro, et al. Animals, 2020, 10(10), 1855.

The dietary vitamin B12 requirement of ruminants is closely related to the cobalt requirement, because cobalt is a component of the B12 molecule and the cobalt content in the diet is the main limiting factor for the synthesis of vitamin B12 by rumen microorganisms.
For optimal dairy cattle feed vitamin B12 requirements range estimated from 0.34-0.68 µg/kg of body weight despite ruminant Co dietary recommendations of 0.1-0.2 mg/kg. Ruminant animals need a lot of vitamin B12 because it promotes the work of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase which helps them use propionic acid as their primary energy source. This need is further compounded by the low efficiency of ruminal microbial Co conversion to vitamin B12 and the limited absorption of vitamin B12.
Although ruminal microbes typically produce sufficient folate and vitamin B12 to prevent deficiency symptoms, evidence from parenteral and oral vitamin B12 supplementation, as well as folic acid supplementation, suggests that microbial synthesis may not always be adequate for optimal production in dairy cows. These interventions often lead to increased milk production and altered milk composition.
Most studies indicate that maximal milk production responses are observed when total dietary Co (from basal diet plus supplementation) reaches approximately 1-1.3 mg/kg. However, a consistent criterion for determining the optimal level of Co supplementation for milk production remains elusive.

Estevinho, Berta N., et al. Powder Technology, 2016, 289, 71-78.

The microencapsulation process protects vitamins by decreasing their loss and addressing stability problems while controlling their release pattern. This work investigated the microencapsulation of two vitamins (vitamin B12 and vitamin C) by spray drying.
· Spray drying process
Microparticles were prepared using a spray dryer equipped with a standard 0.5 mm nozzle under the following conditions: solution and air flow rates, air pressure, and inlet temperature were set to 4 ml/min (15%), 32 m3/h (80%), 6.0 bar, and 120 °C, respectively. Three different biopolymers were used to prepare the microparticles containing vitamins: Used chitosan, modified chitosan (water soluble), and sodium alginate as biopolymer materials.
· Soluble vitamin microcapsules
The production of microparticles showed yields between 41.8% and 55.6% with vitamin B12, and yields between 43.6% and 45.4% with vitamin C. These microparticles had an average size of about 3 micrometers. The chitosan microparticles had a highly textured surface but smooth surfaces appeared on particles made from sodium alginate or modified chitosan. In addition, the release time of microparticle vitamins could be adjusted by selecting different encapsulating agents.