Determination of ascorbic acid and its related compounds in foods and beverages by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography

A new hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA), erythorbic acid (EA), 2-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2G) and 2-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2βG) was developed using a diol column with an isocratic solution of acetonitrile-66.7 mM ammonium acetate solution (85:15, v/v) at a detection wavelength of 260 nm. The calibration curves were found to be linear in the range of 1–50 μg/ml for AA and EA and in the range of 2.5–100 μg/ml for AA-2G and AA-2βG. Detection limits of AA, EA, AA-2G and AA-2βG were 0.3, 0.3, 0.03 and 0.03 μg/ml, respectively. This method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of AA, EA, AA-2G and AA-2βG in a fruit, a food and beverages. The results show that the procedure is simple and sensitive and that it can be employed for the simultaneous determination of AA and its related compounds in foods and beverages.