Analytical method validation and monitoring of diacetyl in liquors from Korean market

Diacetyl is a natural fermentation by-product and is an important flavor component of certain liquors. This paper aims to validate the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method based on derivatization with 1,2-diaminobenzene for diacetyl quantification in liquor samples. A limit of quantitation of 0.039 mg/L was obtained. Coefficient regression (R2) of calibration curve for the HPLC–UV method exceeded 0.999, showing adequate linearity on the standard curve. Relative standard deviation values obtained from intraday and interday analysis for precision were 2.5 and 4.1%, respectively. Using the validated method, the contents of diacetyl in liquors (12 types, 389 samples) distributed throughout Korea were monitored. The average diacetyl content of all analyzed liquor samples ranged from trace amounts to 3.655 mg/L (microbrewery beer). The highest average diacetyl content was found in fruit wines (0.432 mg/L), followed by red wine (0.320 mg/L) and general distilled spirits (0.249 mg/L). In takju and yakju, no distinctive effect of sterilization on diacetyl content was found.