Development of millet beverage for combating vitamin B₁₂ deficiency in order to achieve food security

Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency is addressed by injections and animal-based foods, and as a food-based therapy, this vitamin B₁₂ is produced mainly by dairy Propionibacterium, can be used for in situ food fermentation for the development of vegan based foods. Overall, 138 cultures were isolated from raw cow's milk, Swiss cheese, and curd samples to determine the genotypic characteristics of Propionibacterium spp. The results showed that the isolates were positive according to Gram staining, pleomorphic according to morphological identification, catalase- and nitrate-positive, and KOH-negative; these results are typical characteristics of Propionibacterium spp. Twenty-seven strains were genetically confirmed as Dairy Propionibacterium species and vitamin B₁₂ production ranged from 0.1 to 1.4 µg/ml. Millet-based beverages were fortified by fermentation with a high vitamin B₁₂ producer (MM21), after which their suitability for food use was evaluated. The results showed that dairy Propionibacterium strains could be used as starter cultures for formulating vitamin B₁₂ enrichment in food products.

The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-025-06260-9.