Analysis of Oligosaccharides in a Honey by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with a Post-column Reaction System

Abstract

Many methods to detect some foreign oligosaccharides (mainly from corn fructose syrup) in a honey have been studied, and a combined method of charcoal treatment and thin layer chromatography (TLC) is recommended to use in Japan. But the method has some weak-points such as being time-consuming and uneven due to charcoal treatment. We have tried to improve an analytical method using the gel chromatography on Sephadex G-15 and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a post-column reaction system. By this method, the foreign oligosaccharides (relative retention time to glucose, 0.71-0.78) could be detected even in a honey added 5% of syrup. We will, herein, propose a combined method of gel chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography for swift distinction between a real and a syrup-added honeys.