Kinetics of vitamin B12 thermal degradation in cow's milk

Abstract

Cow’s milk containing approximately 0.54 μg of B12/100 g of milk is an important source of B12 in our diets. Although some studies have reported the effects of heat processing on B12 in milk, kinetic studies regarding the thermal degradation of this vitamin are still scarce. In this study, the kinetics of thermal degradation of vitamin B12 in cow’s milk were obtained in the temperature range of 102.5–141.6 °C and holding times up to 1200 s. The results showed that the degradation of B12 in milk followed a first-order kinetic reaction in the range of temperature tested. The Arrhenius model with an activation energy of 130 ± 5 kJ/mol and was successfully used to predict few data reported in literature for B12 degradation in milk. Compared with other foods, our results suggest that the milk matrix may protect B12 from thermal degradation.