Rapid determination of the various native forms of vitamin B and B in cow's milk using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography.

As the formation of pyridoxal phosphate, the active cofactor of vitamin B, is dependent on riboflavin 5-phosphate, we propose a fast and simple ultra-high performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of the native B vitamers pyridoxal, pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, their mono phosphorus esters and 4-pyridoxic acid as well as vitamin B as riboflavin and its phosphorus ester riboflavin 5-phosphate in milk. Separation was achieved under 6.0min by reversed-phase and pH gradient elution. Sample preparation was optimized regarding various acids and pH levels. Changes in those parameters led to significant deviations of sample matrix breakdown efficiency. The optimized method was then validated regarding specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, range, detection and quantification limits. As the method performed satisfactory, is was used to study commercial liquid cow's milk (n=31), regarding effects of the employed preservation technique (pasteurization, extended shelf-life, ultra-high temperature) on the composition and content of B and B vitamers. In cow's milk, vitamin B mostly consists of pyridoxal and its phosphate ester, with pyridoxal phosphate being the bulk component. The catabolite of the vitamin B metabolism, 4-pyridoxic acid was present in significant amounts in all studied samples, with up to 2.69μmolL. Vitamin B was present as riboflavin and its phosphate ester up to 12.86μmolL.