Determination of Beet Root Betanin in Dairy Products by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

The food industry uses different additives to give foods and beverages the appearance expected by the consumer. Among them, pigments of natural origin are receiving increasing attention due to safety concerns about traditional colorants and the relevance of a healthy diet. This experiment describes the quantitative determination of the characteristic pigment of red beet roots in dairy foods such as conventional yogurt, drinking yogurt, and fromage frais of strawberry, blackberry, and apricot varieties. The laboratory experiment is suitable for an undergraduate instrument analysis course and introduces the principles involved in chromatographic techniques and the use of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipment. It also opens the discussion to other concepts such as carbon chirality, absorbance, and the requirements of food additives.