Simultaneous Determination of Four Preservatives in Foodstuffs by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Food preservatives have become an essential element nowadays; they play an important role during food transportation. This will preserve the food for a long duration from the spoilage. High concentration of preservatives in food may result in gastrointestinal disturbances whereby some patients suffering from asthma, rhinitis, or urticaria. The aim of this study is introduction and optimization of a new method for simultaneous determination of four preservatives (SB, PS, MP and PP) in foodstuff by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Materials and Methods: Important factors in extraction, separation and determination processes were optimized using the one-variable-at-a-time method. For optimization, all tests were performed two times. Figures of merit of the proposed method were evaluated. The amount of SB, PS, MP and PP in some food samples was determined using the proposed method. Results: The results showed that the obtained chromatogram of extract was free of significant interference. The preservatives' recoveries ranged from 88% to 110 %. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation for the preservatives were 0.2 mg kg-1 and 0.5 mg kg-1 , respectively. Concentration of SB, PS, MP and PP in the 20 studied samples was in the range of N. and N.D-30.5 mg kg-1 , respectively. Conclusions: The acceptable performance and reliability of the proposed method as a simple, efficient and fast method for determination of SB, PS, MP and PP in the food samples were demonstrated.