Determination of Taurine in Energy Drinks by HPLC Using a Pre-column Derivative

Abstract

A rapid and simple method to determine taurine in energy drinks by pre-column high-performance liquid chromatography was developed using a derivative of 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-F) without the need for an exclusive instrument. The reaction of taurine with NBD-F finished in 10 min at 60°C. The derivative was measured on a UV-Visible detector (470 nm) by HPLC using a conventional Octadecyl silane (ODS) column. A mixture of disodium hydrogenphosphate-citric acid buffer solution (pH 5.4) containing 10 mmol/l tetrabutylammonium bromide and acetonitrile (7:3) was used as the mobile phase. The recoveries were in the range of 98.2-99.9%, the precision as standard deviation was in the range of 0.3-0.5%, the linearity as a coefficient of correlation value was 0.999 and the specification was confirmed for taurine added to three commercial energy drinks. The content of taurine measured compared to the labeled amount in five commercial energy drinks containing taurine was 92.9-105.1%.