HPLC–MS analysis of the green food colorant sodium copper chlorophyllin

Five commercial samples of sodium copper chlorophyllin, a green food colorant, were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using diode-array detection (DAD) and mass spectrometry (MS). Some of the constituents were identified using authentic standards, whereas others were identified tentatively based on their absorption spectra and mass data. The composition of three of the samples was very similar, whereas the other two were quite different. In the three former samples, the three largest peaks could be assigned to Cu chlorin e6, Cu chlorin p6, and Cu isochlorin e4. In one of the two other samples, these three compounds were also among the largest peaks, whereas Cu chlorin e6 was a small peak in the last sample and Cu chlorin p6 was absent altogether. Porphyrins were also present in the samples, while except in one of the samples chlorins derived from chlorophyll b were largely absent. Sodium copper chlorophyllin is a green food colorant made from chlorophyll. Sodium copper chlorophyllin is made by saponifying chlorophyll and coppering the resulting product. This processing leads to a complex mixture of compounds. An analytical method was developed that can be used to identify many of these compounds and show the extent of coppering and degradation of sodium copper chlorophyllin, which may be used industrially to optimize the production of sodium copper chlorophyllin.