High pressure liquid chromatographic determination of sugars in various food products.

A high pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed which is fast, simple, specific, and reliable over a wide range of sugar concentrations in a variety of food matrices. With few exceptions, sample preparation is simple, requiring only a water-ethanol extraction, followed by a rapid mini-column cleanup before injection into the HPLC system. The majority of samples can be prepared for analysis within 1--1 1/2 hr, and the following sugars are separated in less than 45 min: fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, melibioals, chocolate products, chocolate sirups, cookies, health food products, molasses, preserves, processed fruits, and soy protein products.