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Characterization of vitamin B12 compounds from traditional fermented Japanese seafoods

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  • Food Science and Technology
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Abstract

This study identified vitamin B12 compounds in traditional fermented Japanese seafoods, such as heshiko made with a mackerel, kusaya made with a flying fish, Akazukuri-shiokara made with a squid, and funazushi made with a crucian carp, using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatograph–tandem mass spectrometry. The vitamin B12 content of these fermented seafoods was approximately 4–13 µg/100 g wet weight, indicating that vitamin B12 is the predominant corrinoid in all seafoods tested. However, kusaya contained approximately 8% of inactive cobamides such as 2-methyladenylcobamide and 2-methylmercaptoadenylcobamide. In conclusion, these traditional fermented Japanese seafoods can be a source of vitamin B12.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (Grant number 21K05488 [F.W.]).

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Correspondence to Fumio Watanabe.

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Yamanaka, T., Ishikura, C., Koseki, K. et al. Characterization of vitamin B12 compounds from traditional fermented Japanese seafoods. Fish Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-024-01787-w

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