Whole-cell catalytic synthesis of 2-O-α-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid by sucrose phosphorylase from Bifidobacterium breve via a batch-feeding strategy

•Three typical activities of eight sucrose phosphorylases (SPase) were compared.•Fructose remarkably inhibits the glycosylation of l-ascorbic acid by SPase.•Whole-cell transformation is effective for the glycosylation of l-ascorbic acid.•Sucrose feeding strategy increased molar conversion rate of l-ascorbic acid.