Approval of Beta-Carotene Analysis Method
Because other carotenoids are also protected from oxidation through the beadletting process, AOAC has initiated a study to develop techniques for handling dietary supplements containing such beadlets.
An Expert Review Panel (ERP) selected the method, which was originally developed by J.Schierle, J.Klipfel and B.Pietsch at DSM. The ERP is carefully selected by AOAC to act as an independent 3rd party review panel and to choose the best methods for a particular dietary supplement ingredient. The ERP for beta-carotene was chaired by Ed Waysek of Caravan Products, Inc. and composed of five experts from government (FDA), industry, and academia. Subsequently, J. Schierle and his group submitted the method for Single Laboratory Validation (SLV), and the results of the study were found, under peer review, to be acceptable and to justify proceeding to a full collaborative study.
An international collaborative study, led by J. Szpylka and J. DeVries of Medallion Laboratories, General Mills was conducted. The study included 12 laboratories in 4 countries; 11 of the laboratories successfully completed the study. The method involves an enzyme digestion followed by extraction with ethanol:dichloromethane, and determination by reversed phase HPLC with a visible light absorbance detector. The method is applicable to a wide range of supplement types (13 were included in the study), including vitamin tablets, softgels and capsules, and measures trans-beta-carotene as well as total beta-carotenes. The results of the study will be published in the Sept.-Oct. issue of the J. AOAC Int.
The method performance on a beadletted raw ingredient was found to be unsatisfactory, because of the inhomogeneity of the beadlets themselves. Because other carotenoids are also protected from oxidation through the beadletting process, AOAC has initiated a study, led by J. DeVries of General Mills, to examine this problem and develop techniques for handling dietary supplements containing such beadlets.