Scientists from University Junior College, Osaka Prefecture University and Tottori University in Japan have found that the broth from canned clams contains a considerable amount of free Vitamin B12.
Clams, and other shellfish, are already known to contain high amounts of the vitamin as they siphon large quantities of Vitamin B12 producing bacteria. However, preliminary experiments carried out by the team found a substantial percentage of this amount could be due to pseudo vitamin B12 which is inactive for humans.
Free Vitamin B12 is of particular importance for the elderly as they can suffer from food-bound B12 malabsorption.
The article is published in Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.