Determination of water-soluble vitamins in energy and sport drinks by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

• Reliable and fast evaluation of vitamin content in energy and sport drinks by MEKC.
• Study of compounds found in these drinks that can interfere in vitamin determination.
• The method requires minimal sample preparation and chemical consumption.
• The methodology could be suitably used in quality control in the soft drink industry.

A method for the determination of water-soluble vitamins in several energy and sport drinks by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) has been developed in this work. The separation of vitamins was studied in terms of background electrolyte composition (borate content, pH, surfactant type and content) and in other MEKC parameters. A study of the possible compounds found in the vitamin-enriched drinks that could interfere in vitamin determination was also performed, and a modified procedure with enhanced resolution was developed. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of water-soluble vitamins in a variety of energy and sport drinks and also in fruit nectars. The method implies minimal sample preparation and reagent consumption, being environmentally sustainable. Thus, the proposed methodology could be useful for quality control purposes in the soft drink industry.