A Procedure for Gas Chromatographic Analysis of Free Amino Acids in Meats

SUMMARY— A gas liquid chromatography (GLC) procedure was developed to quantitatively measure the free amino acid content of meat and meat products. The amino acids were extracted from the meats with water and purified using dialysis and ion exchange chromatography. n‐Butyl N‐trifluoro‐acetyl amino acid derivatives were prepared and analyzed on the gas chromatograph. Factors used for quantitative purposes were calculated using the peak areas and concentrations of known amino acid derivatives. The isolation and purification procedures were able to remove all carbohydrates, proteins, and 98% of all inorganic salts from the amino acid solutions. Eleven of the common amino acids were completely resolved using the GLC condition described in this investigation. In addition, three GLC peaks contained two amino acids each. The procedure was able to detect free amino acid in sausage in concentrations as low as .01mg/g.