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Simultaneous HPLC–DAD quantification of vitamins A and E content in raw, pasteurized, and UHT cow’s milk and their changes during storage

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Abstract

An improved extraction and HPLC method for the simultaneous extraction and quantitation of retinol, α-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol, and β-carotene was developed to analyze commercial whole/semi-skim/skim samples of raw/pasteurized/UHT milk in transparent plastic/glass bottles and Tetra Brik™ containers. The sample preparation method required prior saponification at 40 °C for 15 min followed by n-hexane extraction. An isocratic acetonitrile/methanol (65:35 v/v) mobile phase, C18 analytical column, and UV detector were chosen for HPLC quantification. The liposoluble vitamin content in raw, pasteurized conventional/organic, and UHT milk ranged 0.055–5.540 (retinol), 0.135–1.410 (α-tocopherol), and 0.040–0.850 mg/L (β-carotene). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed on losses of retinol, α-tocopherol, and β-carotene content in UHT whole milk after 5 days at 4 °C in the dark. After 14 days at 4 °C in the dark, the contents of retinol, α-tocopherol, and β-carotene remained higher in milk with higher fat content and were higher in unopened containers. In UHT whole milk, samples containing 0.02 % NaN3, retinol (33 %), and α-tocopherol (11 %) but not β-carotene (2 %) decreased significantly (p < 0.05).

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge funding from the INCITE program of the Galician Council of Innovation and Industry (Ref. 09TAL019383PR), general support to the research groups of Universities of Vigo and Aveiro provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/FEDER), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal), European Union, QREN, FEDER and COMPETE for funding the QOPNA research unit (Project PEst-C/QUI/UI0062/2013), and Formula Grants No. 2011-31200-06041 and 2012-31200-06041 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The authors of this work gratefully acknowledge CAPSA and Santa Mariña de Loureiro for their cooperation on this research.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Process Engineering Group, Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, 100 Wiegand Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-6602, USA

    Nattaporn Chotyakul & J. Antonio Torres

  2. Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Analytical and Food Chemistry Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Vigo, Ourense Campus, 32004, Ourense, Spain

    Nattaporn Chotyakul, Miriam Pateiro-Moure & Concepción Pérez-Lamela

  3. QOPNA, Food Chemistry and Biochemistry Group, Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Jorge Alexandre Saraiva

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  1. Nattaporn Chotyakul
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  2. Miriam Pateiro-Moure
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  3. Jorge Alexandre Saraiva
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Correspondence to J. Antonio Torres.

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Chotyakul, N., Pateiro-Moure, M., Saraiva, J.A. et al. Simultaneous HPLC–DAD quantification of vitamins A and E content in raw, pasteurized, and UHT cow’s milk and their changes during storage. Eur Food Res Technol 238, 535–547 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-013-2130-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-013-2130-7

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