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Aims:  To evaluate the efficiency of the vitamin B12‐producing Lactobacillus reuteri CRL1098 strain in preventing the symptoms caused by a nutritional cobalamin‐deficient diet in pregnant female mice and their weaned offspring. Methods and Results:  Pregnant female mice were divided into three groups: animals fed with a B12‐deficient diet (DD), animals fed with DD plus L. reuteri CRL1098 and animals fed with a B12‐sufficient diet. The animals received the different feedings from the end of gestation up to weaning. At the end of the trials, they and their corresponding offspring were bled to determine haematological, immunological and histological parameters. The administration of the pseudovitamin B12‐producing strain prevented the symptoms observed in female and weaned young animals fed with a nutritional B12‐deficient diet. Conclusions:  Our data suggest that the pseudovitamin B12 produced by L. reuteri CRL1098 is biologically active and effective in preventing the pathologies caused by the nutritional deficiency of B12 both in pregnant mice and their offspring. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The ability of L. reuteri CRL1098 to prevent a nutritional vitamin deficiency was demonstrated for the first time. The addition of a GRAS micro‐organism to complement the B12 content in deficient foods is an interesting biotechnological alternative.

Vitamin B12-deficiency may induce specific symptoms as neurological alterations and unspecific symptoms such as anaemia and growth retardation. In this study, maternal vitamin B12 deficiency from end of gestation to weaning was evaluated in mouse dams, which was provoked by feeding a vitamin B12-deficient diet. The animals were divided into two groups (control and deficient). The control group received the vitamin B12-deficient diet supplemented with commercial vitamin B12. Compared to the control, the vitamin B12-deficient dams and their offspring showed a significant decrease of body weight (by 20 and 39%, respectively), serum vitamin B12 concentration (by 61 and 67%, respectively), haematological values as haematocrit (25 and 26%, respectively), and IgA producer cells (by 36 and 54%, respectively). In both, vitamin B12-deficient mouse dams and their offspring, histological alterations of small intestine were observed, whereas growth retardation occurred in the offspring only. This experimental murine model allows assessing the incidence of maternal cobalamin deficiency in offspring and would be useful for evaluating novel adjuncts such as functional foods to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency.

Ageing is associated with several anatomical and physiological changes of the organism, and the increase in global elderly population promotes the research to develop strategies to improve their quality of life. In this work, we characterized the immunological alterations naturally produced during aging in a mice model, and evaluated the effect of probiotic Lactobacillus (L.) rhamnosus CRL1505 administration on those immunological parameters. We demonstrated that L. rhamosus CRL1505 was able to improve peritoneal macrophages phagocytic activity, and the number of intestinal IgA + cells in aged mice, reaching values of those parameters similar to young adult mice. The results of this work indicate that is plausible that the immunobiotic CRL1505 strain may find applications as a beneficial immunomodulator in aging to reinforce the intestinal and systemic immunity. The immune modulation in aging induced by L. rhamnosus CRL1505 could lead to the development of new strategies for functional foods specifically tailored for the elderly.

Jacaric acid, a conjugated linolenic acid (CLNA) present in jacaranda oil (JO), is considered a potent anticarcinogenic agent. Several studies have focused on its biological effects, but the metabolism once consumed is not clear yet. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of two different daily doses of JO on serum parameters and fatty acid (FA) profile of mice tissues after 4 weeks of feeding. No significant changes on body weight gain, food intake, or tissue weight were determined after 0.7 or 2 ml/kg of JO supplementation compared to control animals. Significantly lower blood low‐density lipoproteins‐cholesterol (20 mg/dl) and glucose (~147–148 mg/dl) levels were detected in both oil‐treated groups compared to control (31.2 and 165 mg/dl, respectively). Moreover, jacaric acid was partially converted into cis9, trans11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and thus further incorporated into tissues. Liver evidenced the highest total conjugated fatty acid content (1.1%–2.2%), followed by epididymal (0.7%–1.9%) and mesenteric (1.4%–1.8%) fat. Lower saturated and higher unsaturated fatty acid content was detected in both oil‐treated groups compared to control. Our results support the safety of JO and its potential application with a functional or nutraceutical propose, by increasing human CLNA consumption and further availability of CLA.