Determination of riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide in foodstuffs using high-performance liquid chromatography and a column-enrichment technique

Abstract

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) using a C₂₂ reversed-phase column packing material. Mean recoveries of 100%(±5%) for riboflavin and 102%(±2%) for FMN were obtained. Multiple determinations of the vitamin in two samples indicated a precision of ±5%. The results agree well with those obtained by microbiological assay. Riboflavin and FMN are eluted within 9 min, and the total time for the analysis of most samples is 3.5 h. The lifetime of the reversed-phase column is far greater than that of silica columns. After 500 sample loadings no deterioration of column efficiency occurred. The method is suitable for the determination of riboflavin down to the 0.01 mg per 100 g level. For samples with a lower vitamin content trace enrichment can be used, which involves only a few minutes' extra analysis time.