A Quantitative Estimate of Ascorbic and Isoascorbic Acid by High Performance Liquid Chromatography: Application to Citric Juices

Abstract The present report deals with the optimization and verification of a simple HPLC isocratic method useful for determining ascorbic and isoascorbic acids in standard solutions and fruit juices. Sample preparation is minimal and docs not require derivatization. The method uses an octadecyl reversed phase, a mobile phase which contains cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide 0.05M as the ionic pair and potassium dihydrogen phosphate as a buffer, at pH=4.5, and 4-hydro-xyacetanilide as internal standard. The proposed method makes it possible to quantify ascorbic and isoascorbic acid in less than 13 minutes, with precision (C. V. 3.5%) and accuracy (recover' of 98%).