Pseudovitamin B<inf>12</inf> and factor S are the predominant corrinoid compounds in edible cricket products

Abstract

In this study, we determined the vitamin B12 content of commercially-available edible insect products using a bioassay based on Lactobacillus delbrueckii ATCC 7830. Although the vitamin content of giant water bug, bee larva, grasshopper, and weaver ant products was low, we found that diving beetle and cricket products contained relatively high amounts of vitamin B12 (approximately 89.5 and 65.8 µg/100 g dry weight, respectively). In the cricket products most widely circulated as foods, specific corrinoid (vitamin B12) compounds were extracted and identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS). Despite the bioassay detecting high vitamin B12 content (approximately 50–75 µg/100 g dry weight) in these cricket products, UPLC–MS/MS analysis indicated that pseudovitamin B12 and 2-methylmercaptoadenyl cobamide (also known as factor S) were actually the predominant corrinoid compounds (~74% and ~21%, respectively), with authentic vitamin B12 making up only 5% of total corrinoids.