Evaluation of taurine by HPTLC reveals the mask of adulterated edible Bird's nest

Abstract

Detection of amino acid is an effective and common method to determine adulteration in edible bird's nest. Therefore, a simple and sensitive method was developed to detect taurine for determining adulteration in edible bird's nest in the future. Sample was separated on precoated silica gel GF254 high-performance thin layer chromatographic plates. Separation of taurine was performed by n-propyl alcohol: ethanol: water: glacial acetic acid (5.2: 0.8: 2: 2, v: v: v: v). Densitometric analysis of taurine was carried out in the absorbance mode at 485 nm. The method was validated for precision, intra- and interday variation, and recovery. This study proved that high-performance thin layer chromatography is a simple, rapid, precise, and selective method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of taurine in edible bird's nest. © 2013 Peishan Teo et al.