Development of an integrated approach for the stability testing of flavonoids and ascorbic acid in powders

An integrated approach for determining the stability of flavonoids and ascorbic acid in powders was developed. A rapid analyte solubility procedure was used to decide whether HPLC, GLC, or NMR would best serve to measure the stability of each flavonoid. Both the flavonoid under study and ascorbic acid were measured in one analysis with any of the determinative methods. Seventeen flavonoids of differing types, as well as ascorbic acid, were evaluated to establish the approach. The effects of storage relative humidity (RH) on the stability of several flavonoid powders with and without ascorbic acid were then determined. Quercetin, luteolin, taxifolin, naringenin, and naringin were stable for up to 8 weeks in RHs up to 98%, and ascorbic acid was significantly destroyed in the presence of quercetin, luteolin, and taxifolin at 98% RH. Both grape anthocyanins and ascorbic acid were unstable in the presence of each other at 98% RH. The integrated approach could be used for shelf-life testing of powdered flavonoids under a variety of storage conditions.

► Method developed for analysing powdered flavonoid-ascorbic acid co-formulations.
► A solubility screening protocol selects for further HPLC, GLC, or NMR analysis.
► The integrated method was demonstrated for seventeen flavonoids and ascorbic acid.
► The method was applied to RH stability testing of flavonoid-ascorbic acid powders.
► The integrated method could be adapted for further shelf-life and stress testing.