DETERMINATION OF GLYCEROL IN FOODS BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH FLUORESCENCE DETECTION

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of glycerol in foods is described. The method involves the conversion of glycerol into formaldehyde by sequential enzymatic reactions (glycerokinase, glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase, catalase), followed by the derivatization of formaldehyde with 4-amino-3-penten-2-one. The calibration graph was linear in the range 0.1-4.0-mu-g/ml of glycerol. Many common ingredients of foods did not interfere. More than 90% of glycerol added at three levels was recovered from several foods. The method is simple and accurate. The detection limit was 1.0-mu-g/g when 5 g of sample were assayed.