采用高效液相色谱技术分析生物体内维生素B6

维生素B6(VB6)是一类2-甲基-3-羟基吡啶类化合物的总称，基本类型有吡哆醇(PN)、吡哆醛(PL)和吡哆胺(PM)，磷酸酯型有磷酸吡哆醇(PNP)、磷酸吡哆醛(PLP)和磷酸吡哆胺(PMP)，其中磷酸吡哆醛和磷酸吡哆胺为活性形式，是多种酶的辅酶，哺乳动物尿中VB6的代谢产物主要是不具有生理活性的吡哆酸(PIC)，在植物体内还发现有数种吡哆醇的糖衍生物和氨基酸衍生物。     

Quantities of B6 vitamers in human milk by high-performance liquid chromatography. Influence of maternal vitamin B6 status

A rapid, sensitive procedure is described for the analysis of the B6 vitamers pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, and pyridoxine in human milk from women taking and not taking supplements containing the vitamin using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection. Vitamer values represent the sum of their phosphorylated and unphosphorylated forms. Minimum detectable quantities were 1-3 ng. Excellent recoveries of these vitamers in milk were obtained. Similar B6 vitamer concentrations of milk were obtained using the developed high-performance liquid chromatographic and the accepted microbiological techniques. Pyridoxal, actually consisting of pyridoxal plus pyridoxal phosphate, was the predominant B6 vitamer in human milk. The concentration of B6 vitamers in milk was reflective of the maternal vitamin B6 status.     

Separation and quantification of the B6 vitamers in plasma and 4-pyridoxic acid in urine of adolescent girls by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The vitamin B6 status of seemingly healthy adolescent girls was determined using several accepted and proposed parameters in an effort to establish guidelines for status evaluation. High-performance liquid chromatography-derived plasma B6 vitamers (pyridoxal phosphate, PLP; pyridoxine phosphate. PNP; pyridoxamine phosphate, PMP; pyridoxal, PL; pyridoxine, PN; and pyridoxamine, PM) and 4-pyridoxic acid (4-PA) concentrations and urinary 4-PA levels of 28 white adolescent females, 12-15 years, having radiomonitored plasma PLP concentrations and coenzyme stimulation of erythrocyte alanine aminotransferase activities indicative of adequate status were determined. Mean vitamin B6 and protein intakes were 1.48 mg and 78.3 g. Ranges for plasma B6 vitamer and 4-PA concentrations (nmol/l) were: PLP, 40.9-122.2; PNP, non-detectable (ND)-16.1; PMP, ND-8.1; PL, ND-15; PN, ND-21.9; PM, ND-17.8; and 4-PA, ND-55.7. PLP was the only vitamer found in plasma of all subjects. Urinary 4-PA concentrations ranged from 0.11 to 2.50 mumol/mmol of creatinine. B6 vitamer values of these girls should be of use in the establishment of normal ranges for vitamin B6 status parameters.     

Plasma B6 vitamer and 4-pyridoxic acid concentrations of men fed controlled diets

A rapid and sensitive procedure is described for the analysis of all the B6 vitamers and 4-pyridoxic acid in human plasma utilizing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and fluorometric detection. Pyridoxal phosphate values obtained by radiometric and chromatographic, ultraviolet and fluorometric, assays were highly correlated as were pyridoxine phosphate values determined using both detectors. Plasma B6 vitamer and 4-pyridoxic acid concentrations of 22 men fed diets containing 0.75-0.98 mg of vitamin B6 daily for eight weeks were in the range of reported values; pyridoxal phosphate was their predominant plasma B6 vitamer. This methodology should be useful in the assessment of vitamin B6 requirements.     

Determination of Vitamin B3 Vitamer (Nicotinamide) and Vitamin B6 Vitamers in Human Hair Using LC-MS/MS

Water-soluble B vitamins participate in numerous crucial metabolic reactions and are critical for maintaining our health. Vitamin B deficiencies cause many different types of diseases, such as dementia, anaemia, cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and HIV. Vitamin B3 deficiency is linked to pellagra and cancer, while niacin (or nicotinic acid) lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides in the blood and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL). A highly sensitive and robust liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectroscopy (LC/MS-MS) method was developed to detect and quantify a vitamin B3 vitamer (nicotinamide) and vitamin B6 vitamers (pyridoxial 5′-phosphate (PLP), pyridoxal hydrochloride (PL), pyridoxamine dihydrochloride (PM), pridoxamine-5′-phosphate (PMP), and pyridoxine hydrochloride (PN)) in human hair samples of the UAE population. Forty students’ volunteers took part in the study and donated their hair samples. The analytes were extracted and then separated using a reversed-phase Poroshell EC-C18 column, eluted using two mobile phases, and quantified using LC/MS-MS system. The method was validated in human hair using parameters such as linearity, intra- and inter-day accuracy, and precision and recovery. The method was then used to detect vitamin B3 and B6 vitamers in the human hair samples. Of all the vitamin B3 and B6 vitamers tested, only nicotinamide was detected and quantified in human hair. Of the 40 samples analysed, 12 were in the range 100–200 pg/mg, 15 in the range 200–500 pg/mg, 9 in the range of 500–4000 pg/mg. The LC/MS-MS method is effective, sensitive, and robust for the detection of vitamin B3 and its vitamer nicotinamide in human hair samples. This developed hair test can be used in clinical examination to complement blood and urine tests for the long-term deficiency, detection, and quantification of nicotinamide.     

Plasma B6 vitamer and plasma and urinary 4-pyridoxic acid concentrations of middle-aged obese black women.

Plasma B6 vitamer and plasma and urinary 4-pyridoxic acid (4-PA) concentrations of fifteen middle-aged obese black women were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Estimated protein and vitamin B6 intakes of the subjects, aged 27-52 years, were 64.5 +/- 15.6 g and 1.21 +/- 0.68 mg (mean +/- S.D.), respectively. Mean HPLC-derived plasma B6 vitamer and 4-PA concentrations for these subjects were 68.9, 3.1, 1.2, 4.1, 3.4, 7.2 and 2.0 nmol/l for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), pyridoxine 5'-phosphate, pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate, pyridoxal, pyridoxine, pyridoxamine and 4-PA, respectively. The mean urinary 4-PA/creatinine ratio of the women was 0.88 mumol/mmol. All subjects had plasma PLP levels indicative of adequate vitamin B6 status. Vitamin B6 status parameters of the middle-aged obese black women were similar to those previously reported for white nonobese women having adequate vitamin B6 status.     

Simple isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation of the six vitamers of vitamin B6

A simple, sensitive and fast isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the separation of all six biologically active forms (vitamers) of vitamin B6. The separation is accomplished using a strong cation-exchange column and a mobile phase of 0.1 M ammonium dihydrogenphosphate adjusted to pH 4.0. All six vitamers are separated within 20 min at a flowrate of 1 ml/min. The concentration of the vitamers is determined with a fluorescence detector (excitation 290 nm; emission 389 nm). The within-run precision of the method expressed as the coefficient of variation is below 5% at the 25 pmol level. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate can be determined using either pre- or post-column derivatization with sodium bisulfite. Application of the method to cell-free yeast culture media is presented.     

Plasma B-6 vitamer and plasma and urinary 4-pyridoxic acid concentrations in young women as determined using high performance liquid chromatography.

Plasma B-6 vitamer and plasma and urinary 4-pyridoxic acid concentrations of 21 young white women, 21-27 years, having radiomonitored pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and coenzyme stimulation of erythrocyte alanine aminotransferase activities indicative of adequate vitamin B-6 status were determined in an effort to establish normal ranges for plasma B-6 vitamers. B-6 vitamers and 4-pyridoxic acid were quantitated using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric and ultraviolet detection. Pyridoxal phosphate values obtained by radioenzymatic and chromatographic, fluorometric and ultraviolet, assays were highly correlated as were pyridoxine phosphate values determined using both detectors. The B-6 vitamer and 4-pyridoxic acid values of these subjects should be of use in the establishment of normal ranges of these congeners in women.     

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and its derivatives are efficient singlet oxygen quenchers and potential fungal antioxidants

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, 1) and its derivatives: pyridoxal (2), pyridoxal 5-phosphate (3) and pyridoxamine (4) are important natural compounds involved in numerous biological functions. Pyridoxine appears to play a role in the resistance of the filamentous fungus Cercospora nicotianae to its own abundantly produced strong photosensitizer of singlet molecular oxygen (1O2), cercosporin. We measured the rate constants (kq) for the quenching of 1O2 phosphorescence by 1-4 in D2O. The respective total (physical and chemical quenching) kq values are: 5.5 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 for 1; 7.5 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 for 2, 6.2 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 for 3 and 7.5 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 for 4, all measured at pD 6.2. The quenching efficacy increased up to five times in alkaline solutions and decreased approximately 10 times in ethanol. Significant contribution to total quenching by chemical reaction(s) is suggested by the degradation of all the vitamin derivatives by 1O2, which was observed as declining absorption of the pyridoxine moiety upon aerobic irradiation of RB used to photosensitize 1O2. This photodegradation was completely stopped by azide, a known physical quencher of 1O2. The pyridoxine moiety can also function as a redox quencher for excited cercosporin by forming the cercosporin radical anion, as observed by electron paramagnetic resonance. All B6 vitamers fluoresce upon UV excitation. Compounds 1 and 4 emit fluorescence at 400 nm, compound 2 at 450 nm and compound 3 at 550 nm. The fluorescence intensity of 3 increased approximately 10 times in organic solvents such as ethanol and 1,2-propanediol compared to aqueous solutions, suggesting that fluorescence may be used to image the distribution of 1-4 in Cercospora to understand better the interactions of pyridoxine and 1O2 in the living fungus.     

Simultaneous determination of pyridoxal and pyridoxamine by different spectrofluorimetric techniques

Binary mixtures of pyridoxal and pyridoxamine can be resolved by using zero-crossing first derivative spectrofluorimetry, first devivative constant wavelength synchronous luminescence spectrometry and first derivative constant energy synchronous luminescence spectrometry. These methods do not require any previous separation steps. The lowest quantization limit is obtained with first derivative constant energy synchronous fluorescence (13.0 and 9.0 mug/1. for pyridoxal and pyridoxamine, respectively). The measurements were performed in aqueous medium at pH 7.0 provided by adding 0.05M phosphate buffer solution. In order to demonstrate the validity of these methods a complete and exhaustive statistical analysis of the experimental data was performed. Pyridoxal and pyridoxamine were determined by these methods in synthetic and real mixtures with good results.     

Determination of water-soluble vitamins by liquid chromatography with a parallel dual-electrode electrochemical detector

A method for the determination of water-soluble vitamins (ascorbic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, pyridoxal hydrochloride, pyridoxamine dihydrochloride, p-aminobenzoic acid, folic acid) by liquid chromatography, with a parallel dual-electrode electrochemical detector, is described. One electrode was controlled at +0.80 V (vs. SCE), the other at +1.20 V (vs. SCE). The possibility of interference by eight other water-soluble vitamins (riboflavin, nicotinamide, cyanocobalamin, menadione, dextro calcium pantothenate, thiamine, nicotinic acid, dextro biotin) was studied. These vitamins did not interfere when a parallel dual-electrode detector system was used. The estimation of five of the vitamins was studied in detail. The linear ranges found were 10 ng-1.2 mug for pyridoxine hydrochloride, 2 ng-2mug for pyridoxal hydrochloride, 10 ng-3 mug for pyridoxamine dihydrochloride, 5-200 ng for folic acid and 0.6-200 ng for p-aminobenzoic acid, the limits of detection being 3, 0.6, 1, 2 and 0.06 ng respectively. Application of the technique to the estimation of vitamin B(6) in tablets is illustrated. The results indicate that the vitamin B(6) in these tablets existed in the pyridoxine hydrochloride form and the B(6) content agreed well with liquid chromatograph by spectrophotometric analysis.     

Stability of pyridoxal-5-phosphate semicarbazone: applications in plasma vitamin B6 analysis and population surveys of vitamin B6 nutritional status

The determination of pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP) and pyridoxal (PL) in plasma requires the availability of dark room facilities, due to the photosensitivity of these vitamin B6 vitamers. The fact that the semicarbazone forms of PL and PLP are more strongly fluorescent than the underivatized B6 vitamers has been exploited in plasma analyses, but it was not previously realised that these semicarbazone forms are also very stable even under conditions that lead to rapid decomposition of free PL and PLP. The stabilisation of PLP and PL obtained in this manner is sufficient and fully adequate to meet the practical requirements of clinical field studies. We report a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for plasma PLP and PL determinations based on precolumn semicarbazone formation and fluorescence detection. The method is sensitive enough for quantitative plasma PLP determinations even in B6-deficient patients.     

Chemistry of pyridoxine in drug design

Russian Chemical Bulletin - Pyridoxine and its derivatives, pyridoxamine and pyridoxal, are the three main forms of vitamin B6, which play exceptionally important biological roles in living...     

ETUDE PAR FLUORESCENCE DE BASES DE SCHIFF DU PYRIDOXAL, COMPARAISON AVEC LA L ASPARTATE-AMINOTRANSFERASE

Abstract— –Absorption and emission spectra of Schiff bases of pyridoxal-HCI or pyridoxal-5-phosphate with L-valine, n -butylamine or N-α-acetyl-L-lysine-N-methylamide have been studied as a function of pH. We can write the complete ionization diagram and equilibria. The results of Martell[6] are confirmed: the forms analogous to the coenzyme in aspartate aminotransferase, which absorb at 410 nm and 360 nm (or 340 nm for the Schiff base with n-butyl-amine) have the phenol OH ionized; the imine nitrogen is protonated for species absorbing at 410nm (in the enzyme: inactive form and complex with aminoacid) and unprotonated for species absorbing at 360 nm (in the enzyme, active form). Their fluorescence wavelengths are respectively 500 nm and 430 nm. Protonation of the pyridine nitrogen of these forms does not shift the absorption band; the fluorescence intensity is 20-fold greater for the N-protonated forms.
The real pK of the imine nitrogen is 8.5 ±0.8 for species with pyridine N-protonated or 10.4 for the non-protonated forms. The observed pK 6.3 in the enzyme can be explained if the imine nitrogen is hydrogen bonded to an amino-acid side chain of the protein: lysine, tyrosine, serine, sulfhydryl.
The quantum yield of the coenzyme fluorescence in the enzyme has been compared to that of the analogous Schiff base (absorbing at the same wavelength). According to the results, we cannot deduce whether the pyridine nitrogen is protonated in pyridoxal form of the enzyme.
If it is protonated, as in the pyridoxamine form, the coenzyme environment is not the same in the two forms. If the pyridine nitrogen is unprotonated in the pyridoxal form and protonated in the pyridoxamine form, the environment of the coenzyme is the same in these two forms of the enzyme.     

Water-soluble vitamins

Simultaneous Determination of Vitamins.--Klejdus et al. described a simultaneous determination of 10 water- and 10 fat-soluble vitamins in pharmaceutical preparations by liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (LC-DAD). A combined isocratic and linear gradient allowed separation of vitamins in 3 distinct groups: polar, low-polar, and nonpolar. The method was applied to pharmaceutical preparations, fortified powdered drinks, and food samples, for which results were in good agreement with values claimed. Heudi et al. described a separation of 9 water-soluble vitamins by LC-UV. The method was applied for the quantification of vitamins in polyvitaminated premixes used for the fortification of infant nutrition products. The repeatability of the method was evaluated at different concentration levels and coefficients of variation were <6.5%. The concentrations of vitamins found in premixes with the method were comparable to the values declared. A disadvantage of the methods mentioned above is that sample composition has to be known in advance. According to European legislation, for example, foods might be fortified with riboflavin phosphate or thiamin phosphate, vitamers which are not included in the simultaneous separations described. Vitamin B2.--Vi?as et al. elaborated an LC analysis of riboflavin vitamers in foods. Vitamin B2 can be found in nature as the free riboflavin, but in most biological materials it occurs predominantly in the form of 2 coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD). Several methods usually involve the conversion of these coenzymes into free riboflavin before quantification of total riboflavin. According to the authors, there is growing interest to know flavin composition of foods. The described method separates the individual vitamers isocratically. Accuracy of the method is tested with 2 certified reference materials (CRMs). Vitamin B5.-Methods for the determination of vitamin B5 in foods are limited because of their low sensitivity and poor selectivity. Pakin et al. proposed a post-column derivatization of pantothenic acid as a fluorescent compound and used this principle in a specific and sensitive method for the determination of free and bound pantothenic acid in a large variety of foods. A French laboratory invited European laboratories to participate in a series of collaborative studies for this method, which will be carried out in 2005/2006. A more sophisticated method was described by Mittermayer et al. They developed an LC-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for the determination of vitamin B5 in a wide range of fortified food products. Application of the method to various samples showed consistent results with those obtained by microbiology. Vitamin B6.-Method 2004.07, an LC method for the analysis of vitamin B6 in reconstituted infant formula, was published by Mann et al. In contrast with this method, which quantifies vitamin B6 after converting the phosphorylated and free vitamers into pyridoxine, Vi?as et al. published an LC method which determines 6 vitamin B6 related compounds, the 3 B6 vitamers, their corresponding phosphorylated esters, and a metabolite. Accuracy was determined using 2 CRMs. Results were within the certified ranges. Vitamin C.-Franke et al. described an extensive study to vitamin C and flavonoid levels of fruits and vegetables consumed in Hawaii. Vitamin C was determined by measuring ascorbic acid in its reduced state by LC and coulometric detection along with UV absorbance detection at 245 nm. No attempts were made to assess levels of dehydroascorbic acid. Most recent research revealed that cell uptake of dehydroascorbic acid is unlikely to play a major role, which may explain the very low vitamin C activity of orally administered L-dehydroascorbic acid in rats. The food levels found by Franke et al. are variably lower, higher, or equal in comparison to other studies. Iwase described a method for the determination of ascorbic acid in foods using L-methionine for the pre-analysis sample stabilization. Electrochemical detection was used for the quantification. Traditionally, metaphosphoric acid was proven to be a useful dissolving agent for the determination of ascorbic acid. However, it dissolves in water very slowly, it is hygroscopic, and accurate weighing is not easy. Adjustment at pH 2-3 takes a long time. It appeared to be possible to replace metaphosphoric acid by 0.2% phosphoric acid. Methionine played an important role on the stability of ascorbic acid. The method seemed to be applicable to the routine analysis of ascorbic acid in foods. Folic Acid.-Microbiological analysis of total folate in foods is often considered as the golden standard compared to other methods based on, for example, LC. Koontz et al. showed results of total folate concentrations measured by microbiological assay in a variety of foods. Samples were submitted in a routine manner to experienced laboratories that regularly perform folate analysis fee-for-service basis in the United States. Each laboratory reported the use of a microbiological method similar to the AOAC Official Method for the determination of folic acid. Striking was, the use of 3 different pH extraction conditions by 4 laboratories. Only one laboratory reported using a tri-enzyme extraction. Results were evaluated. Results for folic acid fortified foods had considerably lower between-laboratory variation, 9-11%, versus >45% for other foods. Mean total folate ranged from 14 to 279 microg/100 g for a mixed vegetable reference material, from 5 to 70 microg/100 g for strawberries, and from 28 to 81 microg/100 g for wholemeal flour. One should realize a large variation in results, which might be caused by slight modifications in the microbiological analysis of total folate in foods or the analysis in various (unfortified) food matrixes. Furthermore, optimal combination of enzymes and reaction conditions may vary depending on the composition of the food. Padrangi and Laborde showed recently that treatment with alpha-amylase had no significant effect on measured folate in spinach, although addition of protease significantly increased the release of folate. LC/MS applications gain increasing attention because of their specificity. Rychlik used stable isotope dilution assays for the determination of the folate content of broccoli and bread. Compared to data in the literature and food data bases, amounts were significantly lower. Pawlosky et al., however, found comparable values for 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid and folic acid by HPLC analysis with fluorescent detection and HPLC/MS. Among samples analyzed were CRMs and broccoli. Besides folic acid, other water-soluble vitamins were also determined by LC/MS/MS by Leporati et al. The method was applied to the quantitative analysis of the natural content of vitamins in typical Italian pasta samples, as well as in fortified pasta samples produced for the U.S. market. Biotin.-A paper from Staggs et al. included the assertion that existing biotin data in food composition tables are inaccurate because the majority are based on bioassays with all relevant disadvantages. Data in most cases are overestimated with consequences for recommendations for dietary biotin intake. An HPLC/avidin-binding assay was used to analyze 87 foods to support the hypothesis mentioned.     

Quantitative profiling of biomarkers related to B‐vitamin status,tryptophan metabolism and inflammation in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Vitamins B₂ and B₆ serve as cofactors in enzymatic reactions involved in tryptophan and homocysteine metabolism. Plasma concentrations of these vitamins and amino acids are related to smoking and inflammation, and correlate with other markers of immune activation. Large‐scale studies of these relations have been hampered by lack of suitable analytical methods. The assay described includes riboflavin, five vitamin B₆ forms (pyridoxal 5′‐phosphate, pyridoxal, 4‐pyridoxic acid, pyridoxine and pyridoxamine), tryptophan and six tryptophan metabolites (kynurenine, kynurenic acid, anthranilic acid, 3‐hydroxykynurenine, xanthurenic acid and 3‐hydroxyanthranilic acid), cystathionine, neopterin and cotinine. Trichloroacetic acid containing 13 isotope‐labelled internal standards was added to 60 µL of plasma, the mixture was centrifuged, and the resulting supernatant used for analysis. The analytes were separated within 5 min on a stable‐bond C8 column by a gradient‐type mobile phase containing acetonitrile, heptafluorobutyric acid and high concentration (650 mmol/L) of acetic acid, and detected using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS/MS). The mobile phase ensured sufficient separation and high ionization efficiency of all analytes. Recoveries were 75–123% and within‐day and between‐day coefficients of variance (CVs) were 2.5–9.5% and 5.4–16.9%, respectively. Limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 7 nmol/L. The method enables quantification of endogenous plasma concentrations of 16 analytes related to B‐vitamin status and inflammation, and may prove useful in large‐scale epidemiological studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of camptothecin in biological fluids using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Camptothecin, a plant alkaloid with antitumor activity, is a potent and rapidly acting inhibitor of DNA synthesis. The objective of this study was to develop a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the detection and estimation of the camptothecin concentration in biological fluids. Using HPLC coupled with fluorescence detection, at an excitation wavelength of 370 nm and an emission wavelength of 434 nm, we found that the lower limits of detection for camptothecin in aqueous, plasma and urine samples were 0.5, 1 and 10 ng/ml, respectively. The ideal mobile phase used was methanol-10 mM potassium phosphate (75:25, v/v, pH 4.0). To determine the utilization of the method in a biological system, we studied the pharmacokinetics of camptothecin in mice. Elimination of camptothecin from mice blood was triphasic and followed first-order kinetics. The half-life of camptothecin in mouse blood was 25.7 min. Our studies indicate that HPLC with fluorescence detection for the determination of camptothecin in different media is a simple, rapid, sensitive and reproducible method.     

Determination of Vitamin B6 Compounds in Foods Using Liquid Chromatography with Post-Column Derivatization Fluorescence Detection

The liquid chromatographic determination of six vitamin B₆-related compounds, the three B₆ vitamers, their corresponding phosphorylated esters, and an excretion product, is optimized using the reversed-phase technique with a stationary phase based on a ligand with amide groups and the endcapping of trimethylsilyl. The isocratic mobile phase consisted of a phosphate buffer, and fluorescence detection involved a post-column derivatization reaction using sodium hydrogensulphite to enhance the fluorescence of the phosphate ester. Peaks were identified by the retention characteristics and fluorescence spectra. Detection limits ranged from 1–25 ng mL^–1. Two extraction procedures using acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis were compared. The method was applied to the determination of B₆ vitamin derivatives in different types of food including beef liver, egg yolk, baby food cereals and honey. The natural free vitamers appeared in honey and baby food cereals, while the phosphorylated esters were found in the foods of animal origin. An assay using two certified reference materials gave results within the certified range.     

A qualitative and quantitative color reaction for pyridoxal with sulfuric acid

The carbonyl-phenol-acid reaction system yields color reactions with phenols, carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones), and inorganic acids. 'I'o test for one of the components of this reaction system, the remaining two components constitute the specific reagents.The four related compounds, pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxic acid each possess a phenolic hydroxyl. Pyridoxal possesses an aldehyde group in addition to the phenolic hydroxyl. Pyridoxal yields an intense yellow color on treatment with concentrated sulfuric acid. Pyridoxine, pyridoxamine and pyridoxic acid prove not to be chromogenic on treatment with concentrated sulfuric acid. Pyridoxal can therefore be differentiated by means of the sulfuric acid reaction from the other three compounds related to vitamin B₆.The colored product obtained by the interaction of pyridoxa1 and concentrated sulfuric acid yields a characteristic absorption spectrum and follows the Beer-Lambert law in the concentrations of pyridoxal tested (l0—100 μg).