India, March 16 -- A pioneering research-industry partnership has developed pea shoots fortified with Vitamin B12 using advanced indoor farming technology. The innovation could provide a new plant-based source of this essential nutrient while also opening new market opportunities for farmers(1).
The partnership between the John Innes Centre, Quadram Institute, the University of Bristol, and indoor farm specialists LettUs Grow used advanced aeroponic farming techniques.
Using this approach, researchers successfully delivered the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin B12 within just a 15-gram portion of pea shoots.
The fortified salad crop exceeded expectations. A single serving delivered more than the RDA of Vitamin B12.
The team also found that the pea shoots maintained their shelf-life and B12 content even after extended cold storage, factors that are essential for commercial success. Simulated human digestion experiments carried out at the Quadram Institute confirmed that the fortified pea shoots are accessible to digestion.
This means the crop has not only been successfully fortified with B12, but the nutrient will likely be absorbed into the bloodstream after consumption.
The research, published in Communications Biology, suggests a commercially viable way to improve vitamin intake through everyday foods. The method may also work with other fast-growing salad crops cultivated in indoor farming systems.
More broadly, the project offers a rapid, cost-effective, and sustainable solution to hidden hunger. Hidden hunger occurs when people receive enough calories but lack essential nutrients needed for good health. The term "hidden hunger" is also used for nutritional deficiencies that may occur in people taking appetite-suppressing drugs.
Professor Antony Dodd, a group leader at the John Innes Centre and corresponding author of the study, said: "This novel fortification method can be done at extremely low cost to growers as a way of providing consumers with a cost-effective way of supplementing their diet with Vitamin B12 in a form that their body can use."
Why Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency a Growing Concern?
a Vitamin B12 also known as cobalamin, is an essential nutrient that plants do not make. This creates a nutritional risk for people following vegetarian or vegan diets without supplementation.
Symptoms of deficiency may include anemia, muscle weakness, psychological, cognitive, and neurological problems.
Vitamin B12 is the most structurally complex nutrient and is produced exclusively by bacteria. Humans typically obtain it from animal-based foods such as fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and dairy products.
It is estimated that around 6% of the UK population is B12 deficient, while another 44% may have insufficient levels, often without realizing it. Globally, vitamin B12 insufficiency is common. It occurs particularly in populations consuming low amounts of animal-derived foods and in older adults.
Tablet supplements are widely available, but they have drawbacks. They are often forgotten, and absorption can be less effective when taken without food because eating releases enzymes required for nutrient uptake. In addition, many people prefer obtaining nutrients from whole foods rather than supplements.
With the growing popularity of sustainable plant-based diets, the need for alternative sources of Vitamin B12 has become increasingly urgent.
Could Indoor Farming Create Plant-Based B12 Foods?
Producing vitamin B12 commercially has historically been difficult. Its molecular complexity makes traditional chemical synthesis impossible.
Production requires large numbers of bacteria, making B12 one of the most expensive vitamins on the market, costing up to £20,000 per kilogram - roughly one-third the price of gold.
Currently, around 90 percent of the world's vitamin B12 is produced in China. In this project, the researchers used
aeroponic technology developed by LettUs Grow to deliver a nutrient solution fortified with Vitamin B12 directly to the roots of pea shoots.
The solution was applied as an aerosol. A thin film of nutrients forms on the roots, allowing the vitamin to be absorbed and transported through the plant's nutrient system.
During the eight-day cultivation period, plants received the bioavailable form of B12 known as cyanocobalamin.
Experiments on harvested plants showed that the leaves accumulated more than enough B12 to provide the recommended daily intake in just 15 grams of plant material.
The aeroponic approach also allows precise control over how expensive vitamins are applied, improving efficiency for growers and commercial producers. Researchers estimate that adding B12 to bags of pea shoots or salad mixes
could cost less than one penny per pack
. The team is now exploring ways to bring the product to market and adapt the technique for vertical farms and horticultural glasshouses.
Can Fortified Salad Help Fight Hidden Hunger?
First author Dr Bethany Eldridge said: "The beauty of this work is how it marries high tech and low tech in such a cost-effective way. Pea shoots are literal sponges for B12, while vertical farms provide a controllable environment in which we can tailor its uptake by the plants."
"This method diversifies ways of getting B12 naturally into your diet, especially if you are not consuming meat and dairy as vegans or vegetarians, or if you are consuming meat and dairy in smaller quantities as part of a flexitarian diet. Globally B12 levels are in decline and if we can find a variety of ways that we can get it into food in a bio-accessible way, then that is exciting."
Dr Jonathan Clarke, Head of Business Development at the John Innes Centre, said: "The challenge we faced is to find a way to provide a bioavailable source of Vitamin B12 in a vegetarian meal. The solution came not through engineering the plant but by simply exploiting the ability of the plant to take up B12 when applied. It is an innovative, multidisciplinary approach that highlights the strength of the partnership across the Norwich Research Park and its industrial and academic collaborators."
Professor Martin Warren, chief scientific officer at the Quadram Institute, said: "Vitamin B12 deficiency is often framed solely as a concern for people following vegetarian or vegan diets, but the reality is far broader. Across many populations, inadequate B12 intake contributes to what nutritionists call 'hidden hunger' - micronutrient deficiencies that occur even when people consume sufficient calories. Developing practical ways to incorporate B12 into everyday foods, such as these fortified pea shoots, offers an exciting route to improve nutritional resilience. It demonstrates how advances in agriculture and food technology can help address a quiet but significant global health challenge."
Jack Farmer, Head of Research and Development at LettUs Grow, said, "The exciting thing about this project is that it is the first time the enhanced yield potential of aeroponics has been combined with the nutrition enhancement of B12 fortification in a way that can be scaled up to commercial volumes."