HPLC analysis of caffeine and benzoic acid in diet coke - Lab Report Example

? HPLC analysis of caffeine and benzoic acid in diet coke Introduction Many beverages contain caffeine and benzoic acid. Caffeine can be classified as a drug and can be extremely addictive. Diet beverages also contain aspartame and saccharin. Aspartame and saccharin can be used to instead of sugar in the diet beverages. Aspartame and saccharin taste more than the normal sugar. The reason that many of these beverages contain aspartame and saccharin is because manufacturers prefer to use aspartame and saccharin instead of sugar. This has been because there are people who cannot take sugar due to health issues. To meet the demand of their customers, the manufacturers of the beverages see it fit to use saccharin and aspartame instead of sugar. Aspartame is the most commonly used more than saccharin. It becomes commonly used because it can be digested. When it gets digested, it breaks down into methanol, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartame has an effect on brain. It can therefore, cause some mental disorders due to its effect on the brain if taken in excess. Saccharin cannot be digested hence it is not commonly used. To avoid the danger associated with high intake of the two sweeteners, they should be used in small quantity. The function of benzoic acid is to conserve the beverages. Benzoic acid preserves the beverages by making some bacteria and yeast grow. The growth of yeast and bacteria ensures that the beverages last longer without going bad. Therefore, the shelf life of the beverages becomes increased. Companies that produce products that contain benzoic acid should make sure that the concentration level of benzoic acid is standard. Though benzoic acid is essential in preserving the beverages, high concentration of the acid can be dangerous. Concentration of benzoic acid in beverages normally varies from 0.05 percent to 0.10 percent. In a day, a person should take 5mg per kilogram of the body weight. If human beings consume too much of the acid, it can cause destruction to the liver and kidney. Liver and kidney are supremely valuable organs in the human body hence people should observe their intake of benzoic acid. Manufacturers should take into consideration the effects of the benzoic acid and put their customers’ life first. Some manufacturers often produce beverages that have a high concentration of benzoic acid because they want their products to stay longer. By doing this, they endanger lives of many people. Even though benzoic acid can be used as a preservative, if beverages stay for longer, they lose the original taste. Caffeine can be classified as a drug. Caffeine can be found in plants. In plants, caffeine may be used as a pesticide. It helps to kill pests in plants. This does not mean that it should not be used as it is beneficial if taken in the right amount. In diet soda and other beverages, caffeine can be used as a taste additive. Because of its bitter taste, caffeine enhances other flavors. Caffeine is also a stimulant. Because of its stimulant effect, many people take products with caffeine so that they can be alert. Also, caffeine decreases tiredness hence many people who are always busy consumes a lot of caffeine. Too much consumption of caffeine can cause restlessness and headaches. Normally, a person should consume around 250 milligram of caffeine in a day. More than that amount can be dangerous. It could be noted that individuals who consume much caffeine are likely to suffer hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases compared to those who take less caffeine. In addition, caffeine can be highly addictive, and that can be one of the reasons that caffeine became classified as a drug. High performance liquid chromatography (hplc) High performance liquid chromatography is an investigative tool used to separate components and quantify the components. To determine the quantity of caffeine and benzoic acid in coke soda, an experiment can be done using high performance liquid chromatography (hplc). High performance liquid chromatography is the best alternative because it does not consume a lot of time to perform the experiment. High performance liquid chromatography is also simple, receptive and accurate. Because of its simplicity, hplc can be said to be relatively cheap compared with other methods of determining caffeine and benzoic acid in beverages. Results accumulated can be relied on because hplc is accurate. Mackenzie and Erik (2011, pp.77-79) performed an experiment to determine the quantity level of caffeine and benzoic acid in diet sodas. In the experiment, Erik and Mackenzie used diet carbonated drinks that had caffeine, sodium saccharin, aspartame and benzoic acid. 50 milligram of caffeine, 54.9 milligram of benzoic acid, 56.7 milligram of sodium saccharin and 47.6 milligram of aspartame got used in the experiment. First, the carbonated drinks had to be sonicated to eradicate the gas in the drinks. After sonicating the beverages, the beverages got diluted before carrying out the hplc analysis. After the solution becomes liquefied, the solution got mixed in seven (7) percent of acetonitrile and ninety three (93) percent of aqueous that contained two (2) percent glacial acid and 0.5 percent ammonium acetate. Some amount of the solution was taken to mix with different diet cokes. The diet cokes included diet coke from a can, diet soda from the soda fountain, zero coke, diet green tea, and Tab coke. The outcomes of the experiment indicated that the diet coke from the can contained 131.925 ppm of caffeine and 150.45 Ppm of benzoic acid. The coke zero contained 100.500 ppm of caffeine and 123.875 of benzoic acid. Fountain soda contained the same concentration of caffeine as that of diet coke from the can and 161.875 of benzoic acid. TaB contained 144.500 ppm of caffeine and 123.875 of benzoic acid. In addition, green tea contained 37.0 ppm of caffeine and 100.246 ppm benzoic acid. From the experiment, if a person consumes three diet cokes from the can, he or she will be extending the required amount of caffeine and benzoic acid that one should take in a day. The disadvantage of caffeine is its addictive nature therefore, it becomes hard for a person to avoid taking more than one diet coke in a day. The retention time for caffeine was 2.75 min and 8.5 minutes for benzoic acid. The length of time components take to travel in the column can be determined by the pace of flow of mobile phase. A high concentrated component elutes faster. From the observation, caffeine elutes faster than benzoic acid hence one can conclude that caffeine is highly concentrated than benzoic acid. From the experiment, it became determined that every diet coke contained a significant amount of caffeine and benzoic acid. Also, benzoic acid and caffeine got discovered to be high in diet coke from the can and fountain coke. This means that if a person consumes more than two cans of a diet soda in a day, that person consumes more than the required amount of caffeine and benzoic acid in the body. Additionally, study carried out showed that diet carbonated soft beverages contained a high amount of caffeine than the normal carbonated beverages. Many people opt to drink diet beverages as they believe that diet beverages are best for health. What they do not understand is that these drinks are as harmful as the regular beverages if the intake becomes high. The good news with caffeine is that it does not accrue in the body. Instead, becomes excreted after some time. Ways of minimizing risks associated with caffeine and benzoic acid What many people fail to know is that, heavy consumption of caffeine can cause osteoporosis, heart burn, ulcers, high blood pressure and even infertility. This can be avoided by minimizing caffeine consumption. Instead of taking beverages that contain caffeine all the time, a person should consider taking water which has no effect. If a person wants to be in excellent health, then he or she should regulate the intake of caffeine in a day to minimize the risks associated with high intake of caffeine. This can be the available solution to minimize the risks associated with high intake of caffeine and benzoic acid. This is because it can be hard to manufacture beverages that contain no caffeine or benzoic acid considering their importance in the beverages. Fifty percent of United States citizens consume coffee and diet coke in a day. If they all take more than two mugs of coffee or more than two cans of diet coke in a day, then the life span of many citizens reduces. Instead of the economy of U.S going up, it may be affected due to the reduction of citizens’ life span. The manufacturers should take initiative and educate their consumers on the right amount of caffeine and benzoic acid to consume in a day. Not all consumers know the recommended amount to consume in a day hence manufacturers should not be ignorant on the issue. Some companies that produce the beverages do not indicate the right quantity of their ingredients. They give false quantity so that they can get customers. In some instances, manufactures do not measure the concentration level of caffeine, saccharin, aspartame, and benzoic acid hence risking the life of many. Though benzoic acid is beneficial in the preservation of beverages, consumers should know that it can cause damage to the body if taken in excess. High intake of benzoic acid can cause kidney problem. If benzoic acid may be taken in the right amount, it can prevent tooth decay. When benzoic acid combines with fluoride, it can prevent tooth cavities. Conclusion From the experiment, one can conclude that high performance liquid chromatography can be the best method for determining different ingredients in beverages. This is because it can be relied on and because of its accuracy. Therefore, hplc should be used to investigate if manufacturers comply with additive legislation law. If the manufacturers do not comply with the additive legislation, then action should be taken against them to protect the consumers because it is their right. Additionally, people should be educated on the effects of high intake of beverages that contain caffeine and benzoic acid. They should understand that the diet coke that many believe is safe can be harmful if the intake becomes high. People should reduce the intake of caffeine and benzoic acid. Also, every manufacturer should comply with additive legislation to ensure that their consumers’ health gets considered. They should not maximize their profit at the expense of consumers. Additionally, people should understand that consumption of caffeine and benzoic acid is not harmful if one consumes the recommended amount in day. Everything has its disadvantages and disadvantages. It becomes disadvantageous if taken in excess as the saying goes “too much of something can be poisonous.” Therefore, consumption of diet coke should be minimized. Work cited Erik, Stoa & Mackenzie, Ree. Simultaneous determination of aspartame, benzoic acid, caffeine, and saccharin in sugar free beverages using HPLC. Moorhead: Department of Chemistry Concordia College, 2011. Read More