Duration: June 2022 to November 2023
Funding: Watson Nutrition
Principal Investigator: Dr. Markus Keller
DRKS-ID: DRKS00028151
Study design
The MultiVeg Sdtudy is the first clinical study to investigate the efficacy of a multinutrient supplement specifically designed for people on a vegan diet. Various nutrients are considered critical in a vegan diet, including vitamin B12, vitamin B2, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Additionally, other nutrients, such as vitamin A and branched-chain amino acids, are also currently being discussed as potentially critical. In this context, critical means that the average intake of these nutrients is often below the reference values (e.g. D-A-CH reference values). From a scientific point of view, supplementation of some critical nutrients is recommended (e.g. vitamin B12) or can be useful. This is especially true if the daily diet is not optimally composed or well planned, in certain phases of life in which the nutrient requirement is increased or sufficient intake of all nutrients cannot be ensured, even with an optimized diet. Various nutrient supplements are now available on the market to help covering nutrient requirements of a vegan diet. Scientific studies on the effectiveness and bioavailability of the nutrients they contain are still scarce.
Therefore, the MultiVeg study investigated the effect of a micronutrient supplement (ProVeg Essentials+), an omega-3 supplement (ProVeg Omega 3+) and a choline supplement from Watson Nutrition in a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled intervention study with 75 participants. The intervention group received the multi-nutrient preparation, the choline preparation, and the omega-3 fatty acid preparation (50% of the participants received a dosage of 250 mg EPA/DHA, the other 50% received 500 mg EPA/DHA). The control group were given placebos (same appearance, same taste). The supplements (or placebos) were taken over a period of 16 weeks (October 2022 to February 2023).
The participants visited the study center in Bad Homburg twice – before the start and after the end of the 16-week intervention period – to provide fasting blood and spontaneous urine samples. Body height and weight were also determined. To monitor the subjects’ diet, 3-day weighed dietary records were kept at the beginning, middle and end of the intervention.
The results are currently being evaluated.