Purification and characterization of corrinoid-compounds from the dried powder of an edible cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune (Ishikurage)

Vitamin B(12) content (9 8.8 +/- 5.6 mu g/ 100 g dry weight) of an edible cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune (Ishikurage) was determined by the Lactobacillus delbrueckii ATCC 7830 microbiological method. Bioautography with vitamin B(12)-dependent Escherichia coli 21.5 indicated that N. commune contained two (main and minor) corrinoid-compounds. These corrinoid-compounds were purified to homogeneity from the dried algal cells and characterized. The main and minor purified corrinoid-compounds were identified as pseudovitamin B(12) and vitamin B(12), respectively, on the basis of silica gel 60 TLC, C18 reversed-phase HPLC, (1)H NMR spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy. These results suggest that the bacterial cells are not suitable for use as a vitamin B(12) Source, especially in vegetarians.