Uncertainty of antioxidant profiling in complex mixtures using liquid chromatography involving post-column derivatisation

• Critical problems with HPLC post-column derivatisation of phytochemicals.
• Same critical problems with this method and food components.
• Misunderstanding principles of antioxidant profiling using pH and high temperature.
• Optimising method using ABTS, DPPH, FC affects target compound antioxidant activity.

The main goal of this paper is to discuss the problems associated with antioxidant profiling in complex samples using a high-throughput HPLC system coupled with post-column derivatisation reactor. Based on the experimental data reported in the literature, we demonstrated that improper optimisation of temperature and/or pH assay conditions performed using an on-line derivatisation reactor may substantially change the antioxidant peaks ratio of targeted phytochemical compounds. It has been found that despite the relatively high stability of flavonoids at high temperature and under binary mobile phase HPLC conditions, the reaction of target compounds with common ABTS, FCR and DPPH radicals at elevated regions (particularly above 100 °C) dramatically changes their antioxidant activity values expressed, for example, as TEAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) parameters. In principle, separation and detection processes of antioxidant profiling assay must not significantly affect the antioxidant activity of target compounds. In the case of foods eaten by humans or animals, critical experimental parameters such as pH and temperature concerning interaction of target analytes with derivatisation reagent should be as close as possible to the real physiological values.