Use of antioxidants in the analysis of vitamins A and E in mammalian plasma by high performance liquid chromatography.

A simple, sensitive, quantitative method for the simultaneous assay of retinol, alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol in rat, guinea pig, monkey and human plasma was developed by using high performance liquid chromatography. It was found that antioxidant was required to stabilize the fat-soluble vitamins in the plasma of rats. The effect of several antioxidants on the recovery of fat-soluble vitamins was evaluated. Results showed that 0.125% butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in ethanol and 0.025% BHT in heptane yielded recoveries greater than 95% in 0.1 ml plasma.