Determination of fat-soluble vitamins A, D3, and E in infant formula and milk powder using high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection: Jordan market as a case study

Abstract

A new, simple, rapid, and sensitive reversed-phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array (HPLC-PDA) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of fat-soluble vitamins A, D3, and E. The method required a simple sample preparation step of saponification with aqueous KOH and extraction with n-hexane. The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, stability, detection limits, and recovery. The method has the advantage of simultaneous determination of vitamins A, D3, and E in a short run time of 10 min. The method was applied successfully for the determination of vitamins A, D3, and E in some infant formula and milk powder from the Jordanian market. Based on this study, vitamin Content in all brands was within 90.0-410% of the labeled value. Vitamin D3 content in the studied brands was within 100.0-850%, while vitamin E content in all brands was less than 48%. The results showed large variation and discrepancy of most vitamins' contents, which were not in good agreement with the manufacturer label value, though they were below toxic levels.This work was financially supported by the Mut'ah University and Jordan University of Science and Technology.Scopu