HPLC methods for simultaneous determination of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids

The potential role of ascorbic acid (AA) in biological systems has stimulated wide, multidisciplinary interest in this compound. Its determination is of interest in many fields (e.g., food, clinical, plant or pharmaceutical analysis). In the past few years, many methods, based on different analytical techniques, have been developed for the determination of AA and its oxidation product, dehydroascorbic acid (DHA). This review aims to make clear the differences, the progress, and the advantages and the disadvantages of individual approaches using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We discuss HPLC methods for the determination of AA and DHA from the points of view of separation mechanism and detection technique. Stability of these analytes is a key issue in obtaining reliable method validation, so we also included this aspect in the discussion.