Because vitamin A cannot be synthesized by the human body, deficiency is recognized as a public health problem in more than half of the world’s countries. EFSA has established population reference intakes for vitamin A ranging from 250 to 750 µg per day. Daily requirements must be met through diet, but vitamin A intake should be carefully controlled because either deficiency or overdose can lead to serious side effects. The recommended doses must therefore correspond to physiological needs.
Vitamin A deficiency is prevented by fortifying foods and food supplements to provide individuals with a complete nutrient supply.
In food supplements, vitamin A is added in the form of esters such as retinyl palmitate or retynyl acetate to prevent oxidation of the vitamin, as preparation and storage methods greatly affect the stability of vitamin A. Vitamin A is a very sensitive compound that degrades in the presence of oxygen and UV radiation, high temperatures, low pH, trace metals and moisture. Under these conditions, both isomerization of the trans-retinol into a less biologically active form (the cis-retinol) and hydrolysis of the retinyl ester into a less stable chemical form occur. As a result, the determination of vitamin A content is complicated due to the instability of the vitamin during sample preparation. Microencapsulation of vitamin A has been proposed as a solution to its chemical instability.
The increasing consumption of vitamin supplements in recent years has made it necessary to monitor the content and quality of the product with a rapid and reliable method for the determination of vitamins in food supplements during the production and storage of these products. Quantification of vitamin A content in food supplements is also very important for determining the dose to prevent overdose and the occurrence of toxicity.
Liquid chromatographic techniques for the determination of retinol and retinyl esters in various formulations provide a rapid and accurate method for selective determination of vitamin A content at very low concentrations (in µg).
In our laboratory, we perform stability testing and routinely analyze the content of different forms of vitamin A: retinol, retinyl acetate, retinyl palmitate, beta-carotene etc., in various formulations. For more information, Contact us and recieve your informational quote.
