Analysis of Vitamin E in a Commercial Supplement by Offline SFE-SFC-PDA

Introduction

Vitamin E, also called tocopherol, is a fat-soluble vitamin and an important chemical substance that exhibits an antioxidant effect, particularly in the human body. There are four tocopherols (α, β, γand δ) that differ based on the number and position of methyl groups. The α -tocopherol exhibits the strongest antioxidant activity, and this is the tocopherol form found in most commercial supplements as vitamin E. Since it is highly fat-soluble, a quick and simple extraction method using supercritical fluid is expected to be applicable. In this article, we introduce a procedure for α-tocopherol pretreatment that uses supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). A HPLC pump with a low-pressure GE valve installed is used in the solvent delivery system, and the extraction conditions can be optimized by changing the type of modifier (maximum of four types, including eluent from the trap column) and the concentration relative to carbon dioxide. Extract is retained in the trap column, and the low-pressure GE valve on the solvent delivery pump is switched to the solvent suitable for elution from the trap column. Then the eluent is collected in test tubes with a fraction collector.

February 21, 2019 GMT