Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Pyridoxine in Infant Formula

An Ion pairing reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method developed for multivitamin supplements and premlxes was applied to the simultaneous determination of thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine In perchloric acid extracts of milkand soy-based Infant formulas. The method uses m-hydroxy benzoic acid as Internal standard and a mobile phase consisting of water, acetonltrile, hexanesulfonlc acid sodium salt, and ammonium hydroxide solution, adjusted to pH 3.6 with phosphoric acid. The column Is a 15 cm x 3.9 mm id Nova Pak C18. Limits of detection were 0.15 μg/mL for thiamine and 0.09 μg/mL for riboflavin by UV detection at 254 nm, and 0.010 μg/mL for pyridoxine by fluorescence detection. Mean percent recoveries based on triplicate determinations were 102 ± 1.8,102 ± 3.3, and 101 ± 3.1 for thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine, respectively. The results compared favorably with the AOAC methods for thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine.