Vitamin B12[c-lactone], a biologically inactive corrinoid compound, occurs in cultured and dried lion's mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) fruiting bodies.

This study determined the vitamin B12 content of the edible medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus, lion's mane mushroom fruiting body, using a microbiological assay based on Lactobacillus delbrueckii ATCC 7830. Trace levels (0.04-0.36 μg/100 g dry weight) of vitamin B12 were found in most of the dried mushroom samples, and two samples contained slightly higher levels (0.56 and 1.04 μg/100 g dry weight, respectively) of vitamin B12. We purified the corrinoid compounds from the extracts of dried lion's mane mushroom fruiting bodies using an immunoaffinity column and identified them as vitamin B12 or vitamin B12[c-lactone] (or both) based on LC/ESI-MS/MS chromatograms. This is the first report on an unnatural corrinoid, vitamin B12[c-lactone], occurring in foods. Vitamin B12[c-lactone] was simple to produce during incubation of authentic vitamin B12 and chloramine-T, an antimicrobial agent, at varying pH values (3.0-7.0) and was completely inactive in the vitamin B12-dependent bacteria that are generally used in vitamin B12 bioassays.