The vitamin B
12 concentration of the dried cells of
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae was determined byboth microbiological method with
Lactobacillus delbrueckeii ATCC7830 and chemiluminescencemethod with intrinsic factor. The
Aphanizomenon cells contained 616.3 ± 30.3
g (
n = 4) of vitaminB
12 per 100 g of the dried cells by the microbiological method. The values determined with thechemiluminescence method, however, were only about 5.3% of the values determined by themicrobiological method. A corrinoid-compound was purified from the dried cells and characterized.The purified corrinoid-compound was identified as pseudovitamin B
12 (an inactive corrinoid-compoundfor humans) by silica gel 60 TLC, C18 reversed-phase HPLC, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and
1H NMR spectroscopy. The results suggest that the
Aphanizomenon cells are not suitable for use asa vitamin B
12 source, especially in vegans.