Simultaneous determination of 13-cis and all-trans vitamin A palmitate (retinyl palmitate), vitamin A acetate (retinyl acetate), and total vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol and DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate) in infant formula and adult nutritionals by normal phase HPLC: first action 2012.10.

This HPLC method, with both variable UV and fluorescence detection, allows for the simultaneous determination of vitamin A palmitate, vitamin A acetate, and total vitamin E in infant, pediatric, and adult nutritional formulas. The concentration of each vitamin form is calculated by comparison with standards of known concentration. Following hydrolysis, the vitamins are extracted into iso-octane and analyzed by normal phase (NP) HPLC. The method was evaluated for linearity, precision, and accuracy using a selection of the Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals (SPIFAN) matrixes, including milk-based, soy-based, and hydrolyzed protein, as well as high- and low-fat products. A single-laboratory validation has been completed for all analytes using a selection of SPIFAN matrixes. Performance parameters included a working range of 2-450 microg/100 g ready-to-feed for vitamin A and 0.03-8.0 mgl100 g reconstituted final product for vitamin E. LOD was <1.0 microg and <0.1 mgl100 g reconstituted final product for vitamins A and E, respectively; RSD was 1.08-8.70% over a range of concentration; and average recoveries of 97.4-101.3%. Repeatability of <4% for vitamin A and <8% for vitamin E was calculated from five laboratories using this method. Results indicate that this method is suitable for the analysis of vitamins A and E in all forms of infant, adult, and pediatric formulas (powders, ready-to-feed liquids, and liquid concentrates). The Expert Review Panel (ERP) of Infant Formula reviewed this method separately for vitamins A and E, including all available method validation data at the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting on September 29, 2012. Following evaluation of the data for both methods, the ERP agreed that both methods met the standard method performance requirements articulated by SPIFAN. The ERP granted First Action status to both methods, and recommended that a single method be published for the simultaneous determination of vitamin A palmitate, vitamin A acetate, and total vitamin E (DL-a-tocopherol and DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate) in infant formula and adult nutritionals by NP HPLC.

Liquid chromatographic analysis of vitamin B6 in reconstituted infant formula: collaborative study.

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method was validated for the determination of total vitamin B6 in infant formula. Total vitamin B6 was quantified by converting the phosphorylated and free vitamers into pyridoxine. Pyridoxine was determined by ion pair reversed-phase LC with fluorescence detection. The method was subjected to an AOAC collaborative study involving a factory-manufactured, milk- and soy-based infant formula. Each was spiked at 3 concentrations in the range of 0-1 microg/g and sent as blind duplicate to participant laboratories. Nine laboratories returned valid data which were statistically analyzed for outliers and precision parameters. The repeatability relative standard deviation (RSD(r)) ranges were 2.0-4.0 and 3.5-5.9% for fortified milk- and soy-based formulas, respectively. The reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSD(R)) ranges were 8.2-8.4 and 6.7-11.2% for fortified milk- and soy-based formulas, respectively. HORRAT values ranged from 0.42 to 0.53, indicating that the precision of the method is acceptable. The mean RSD(r):RSD(R) values were 0.60 and 0.55 for milk- and soy-based formulas, respectively. As expected, RSDs for the unfortified samples were higher, but their HORRAT values (0.81 and 2.06) helped define a realistic limit of quantitation as 0.05 microg/g. Recovery data were quantitative and varied between 81.4 and 98.0% (mean = 89.8%) for each of 6 spiked materials.