In Vitro Assessment of a Pediatric Multivitamin Gummy Supplement: Effects on Probiotic Growth, Cellular Metabolism, and Antioxidant Activity

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Background:Adequate vitamin intake during childhood is crucial for growth, immune development, and metabolic balance. Despite this, vitamin deficiencies remain common, partly due to poor adherence linked to taste and administration difficulties. Multivitamin gummies offer a palatable alternative, but their biological effects on cells and probiotic activity are not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro impact of a pediatric multivitamin gummy supplement on mammalian cells and selected probiotic strains.Methods:Cytotoxicity, metabolic activity, and cell morphology were assessed for primary dermal fibroblast normal, neonatal (HDFn) and human colorectal adenocarcinoma (CaCo2) cells using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Antioxidant activity was measured by intracellular reactive oxygen species detection under hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. Probiotic growth effects were evaluated for Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Saccharomyces boulardii by enumerating colony forming unit (CFU/mL) using the serial dilution and agar plating method after incubation.Results:No cytotoxicity was observed in HDFn or CaCo2 cells; metabolic activity remained above the 70% viability threshold across all concentrations (1–10 mg/mL). In some doses, the supplement significantly enhanced metabolic activity compared to the control (p < 0.05), with a maximum increase of approximately 113% for HDFn cells at 1 mg/mL. The supplement demonstrated significant antioxidant protection by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation compared to Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-only treatment (p < 0.0001), lowering fluorescence level from over 470% in the stressed group to approximately 300% in HDFn and from 250% to below 190% in CaCo2 cells. Furthermore, it significantly increased the growth of L. rhamnosus (p < 0.05), reaching nearly 130% of the control value at the 10 mg/mL dose, while for S. boulardii, the observed growth increase was not statistically significant (p > 0.05).Conclusions:This study shows that the pediatric multivitamin gummy supplement is safe for mammalian cells, provides antioxidant defense under stress, and supports probiotic proliferation in vitro. These findings suggest that multicomponent vitamin formulations may offer synergistic biological benefits beyond basic nutrition.

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