Characterization of Vitamin B<inf>12</inf> Compounds from Commercially Available Fish Sauce Products

Abstract

After immunoaffinity purification, the vitamin B12 contents of 12 types of commercially available fish sauce products were determined using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Vitamin B12 contents of fish sauce products varied from <0.1-1.7 μg per 100 g, with an average of 0.6 ± 0.1 μg of vitamin B12 per 100 g. Vitamin B12 was the major corrinoid compound in all fish sauce samples tested. Vitamin B12-d-monocarboxylic acid (approximately 4-38% of total vitamin B12) and vitamin B12-e-monocarboxylic acid (approximately 1-9%) were identified. Vitamin B12-b-monocarboxylic acid or pseudovitamin B12 were rarely detected at trace levels. Additionally unidentified vitamin B12 monocarboxylic acid (approximately 2-16%) was detected. These results suggest that pseudovitamin B12 and vitamin B12 monocarboxylic acids are derived from materials such as shrimp and shellfish.