Simultaneous determination of semi-essential nutrients taurine, l-carnitine and choline in infant formulas and adult/pediatric nutritional formulas by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry – PubMed

Background: The nutritional intake of formula-fed newborns is often limited to a single source, so it must be supplemented with essential nutrients for the growth and proper development of infants. Taurine, l-carnitine, and choline are considered conditionally essential nutrients especially in newborns and infants.

Results: In this work, a simple routine hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of these semi-essential nutrients in infant and adult/pediatric milk formulas. The extraction recoveries were between 90% and 114%. Precision of the method offered relative standard deviation below 5% and 7% for intra-day and inter-day precision, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to quantification of taurine, l-carnitine, and choline in milk formula. The contents found were in good agreement with those provided on the product label for almost all samples.

Conclusion: In view of these results, it can be concluded that the developed method can be a useful approach for the simultaneous determination of taurine, l-carnitine and choline in powdered milk samples, so it can be useful in the routine quality control of this kind of samples. © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

REFERENCES

1. 1. Garwolinska D, Namiesnik J, Kot‐Wasik A and Hewelt‐Belka W, Chemistry of human breast milk—a comprehensive review of the composition and role of milk metabolites in child development. J Agric Food Chem 66:11881–11896 (2018).
2. 1. Almeida CC, Pereira BFM, Leandro KC, Costa MP, Spisso BF and Conte‐Junior CA, Bioactive compounds in infant formula and their effects on infant nutrition and health: a systematic literature review. J Food Sci 2021:8850080 (2021).
3. 1. Cao SL, Jiang H, Niu SP, Wang XH and Du S, Effects of taurine supplementation on growth in low birth weight infants: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Indian J Pediatr 85:855–860 (2018).
4. 1. Abud GF, De Carvalho FG, Batitucci G, Travieso SG, Bueno Junior CR, Barbosa Junior F et al., Taurine as a possible antiaging therapy: a controlled clinical trial on taurine antioxidant activity in women ages 55 to 70. Nutrition 101:111706 (2022).
5. 1. Gill BD and Indyk HE, Current methods for the analysis of selected novel nutrients in infant formulas and adult nutritionals. J AOAC Int 99:30–41 (2016).