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.