Worldwide, millions of people follow vegan and vegetarian diets for religious, ethical, environmental, or economic reasons. While these diets are purported to have health benefits, they can also be deficient in essential nutrients such as vitamins B12 and D3 if poorly planned or poorly supplemented. Right now
The researchers report a strawberry-flavored gummy in the ACS Journal of Food Science and Technology that contains these vitamins and does not contain any animal products in the formula, so vegans and vegetarians can meet their recommended daily intake (RDA).
Some essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B12, are only found in animal products, while others can be obtained from other sources. For example, humans can make vitamin D3 when their skin is exposed to sunlight, but many people don’t have enough conditions outside to meet the requirements of this vitamin. Therefore, it is mainly ingested through fish, eggs, and offal meat, which vegetarians and some vegetarians do not eat.
To avoid the pitfalls of vitamin deficiency, people who stick to a plant-based diet often take supplements, but because of the different solubilities of vitamin B12 and vitamin D3, putting them in one pill has been a challenge. One solution might be to put them in a gel filled with emulsion, such as gummies. Previous researchers have shown that pectin is a plant-based polysaccharide that can act as a gelling agent for foods free of animal products. So Samantha Pinho and colleagues wanted to see if they could use only plant-based ingredients, such as gum, to produce a gummy rich in vitamins B12 and D3 that consumers could accept.
The researchers first made an emulsion that combined citrate buffer, inulin, gum arabic, flaxseed oil, and vitamin D3, and made a pectin gel alone, dissolving a pectin, calcium chloride, and vitamin B12 in citrate buffer. Then, by quickly stirring the emulsion into a sugary pectin gel, the team produced a gel filled with emulsion. The gel becomes a red gelatinous substance after drying.
To develop it into a suitable food, the researchers added a natural strawberry flavor and shaped the gel into a half-inch wide candy.
In a sensory test, 120 untrained panelists gave the gummies high scores for taste, color, aroma and overall acceptance. About half of the panelists said they would buy nutrient-rich gummies, and another 36 percent said they would probably buy the product. The researchers say their results pave the way for making food more nutritious.