Ascorbigen (ABG), 2-C-(indol-3-yl)methyl-α-Lxylo-hex-3-ulofuranosono-1,4-lactone, was synthesised and its structure and purity was confirmed by means of 1HNMR and 13 C NMR spectra and HPLC-PDA, respectively. The electrochemical behaviour of ABG was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) method for pH within the range of 3.0–7.0 and further characterisation was performed by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at pH 5.0. Voltammetric studies of ABG at glassy carbon electrode showed one irreversible oxidation peak (centred at Ep=0.950 V for pH 5.0). The anodic peak current potential related to the irreversible oxidation of ABG was shifted towards more positive potentials with decreasing pH values. The linear response between concentration of ABG within the range of 0.08–0.75 mM and recorded current was observed. The DPV method was shown to be more sensitive when compared to the CV method. ABG showed a significant reducing activity provided by CV, whilst the antioxidant activity of ABG against O2 −• was negligible. Electrochemical behaviour of ABG standard was applied successfully for the quantification of natural ABG in sauerkrauts by DPV and HPLC-CoulArray methods. Based on the developed analytical methods, ABG content increased during natural fermentation of cabbage at 0.5% and 1.5% NaCl levels, and results were comparable with those found in the literature.

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This work was supported in part by the Spanish Commission of Science and Technology AGL2007-62044 and by grant no. 5056/B/P01/2011/40 from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

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