6533b852fe1ef96bd12aaa45

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Determination of synthetic antioxidants in dairy products and dietetic supplements by micellar liquid chromatography with direct sample injection

subject

description

A simple and rapid HPLC method for the determination of synthetic antioxidants (propyl gallate, tert-butylhydroquinone, 2,4,5-trihydroxybutyrophenone, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, octyl gallate, 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and dodecyl gallate) in powdered and liquid milk, cream of milk and dietetic supplements is described. The samples are diluted or solved in a micellar solution, filtered and directly injected. The retention behavior of the antioxidants on a C18 column, with micellar mobile phases containing SDS (0.05–0.15 M), n-propanol (1–9%, v/v) and 10 mM phosphate at pH 3, has been studied by using mathematical models. Retention is predicted with errors below 3%. To optimize the mobile phase composition, a procedure which takes into account the position and shape of the peaks is applied. The optimized mobile phase, which contains 0.090 M SDS and 6.6% n-propanol, allows the separation of six antioxidants in less than 13 min. Calibration curves are linear (r>0.9998) and the limits of detection range from 0.05 to 0.3 ng antioxidant, which correspond to concentrations well below the levels allowed in foods. Repeatabilities for standards containing 5 μg mL−1 ranged from 0.2 to 1.6%.