Gas chromatographic determination of sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol in chewing gum and sorbitol in mints.

A method has been developed for determination of sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol in chewing gum and sorbitol in mints. Chewing gum is partitioned between methylene chloride and water; the mint is simply dissolved in water. The aqueous extract is dried and the residue is derivatized with pyridine-acetic anhydride to form the corresponding peracetates. The derivatives are quantitated by gas chromatography using a 9 ft x 2 mm column packed with 10% Silar 10C on Chromosorb W/AW. Average recoveries of these sugar alcohols ranged from 96 to 102%.