Current Nanocarrier Strategies Improve Vitamin B12 Pharmacokinetics, Ameliorate Patients' Lives, and Reduce Costs

Abstract

Vitamin B12 (VitB12) is a naturally occurring compound produced by microorganisms and an essential nutrient for humans. Several papers highlight the role of VitB12 deficiency in bone and heart health, depression, memory performance, fertility, embryo development, and cancer, while VitB12 treatment is crucial for survival in inborn errors of VitB12 metabolism. VitB12 is administrated through intramuscular injection, thus impacting the patients' lifestyle, although it is known that oral administration may meet the specific requirement even in the case of malabsorption. Furthermore, the high-dose injection of VitB12 does not ensure a constant dosage, while the oral route allows only 1.2% of the vitamin to be absorbed in human beings. Nanocarriers are promising nanotechnology that can enable therapies to be improved, reducing side effects. Today, nanocarrier strategies applied at VitB12 delivery are at the initial phase and aim to simplify administration, reduce costs, improve pharmacokinetics, and ameliorate the quality of patients' lives. The safety of nanotechnologies is still under investigation and few treatments involving nanocarriers have been approved, so far. Here, we highlight the role of VitB12 in human metabolism and diseases, and the issues linked to its molecule properties, and discuss how nanocarriers can improve the therapy and supplementation of the vitamin and reduce possible side effects and limits.

Keywords: Vitamin B12; cobalamins; malabsorption; nanocarriers; supplementation.

Figure 1

VitB12 uptake pathway. The scheme summarizes the main stages of VitB12 absorption and describes the factors and organs involved. See text for the complete description.

Figure 2

Nanocarriers uptake. The picture reports the general uptake of nanocarriers in the gastrointestinal tract (which is the main target for several nanoparticles that involves oral administration) (adapted from the works in [75,76,78,84]).

Figure 3

Current application of nanocarriers in VitB12 administration. The scheme summarizes the causes of VitB12 deficiency, the current administration options, and the nanoparticle-based developing administration.