INTRODUCTION Analysis of Caffeine in Beverages by HPLC - Essay Example

Full Analysis of Caffeine in Beverages (by using HPLC) 17 November Introduction Caffeine is a bitter alkaloid substance found in many everyday products such as soft drink, tea, coffee, and chocolate. It is derived from various leaves, nuts, seeds, and berries that is processed as an ingredient in many foods and liquids. It has many physiological effects on humans by affecting metabolism through the central nervous system to make people more alert with a burst of energy (National Institutes of Health para. 1). It can make a person jittery, have difficulty in sleeping, and causes other effects like dehydration, heart palpitation, and dizziness.

It is also addictive and the prevalence of caffeine in many drinks available today is a growing, serious health concern because it is a stimulant (Bidlingmeyer 385).The amount of caffeine present in soft drinks like Pepsi and Mountain Dew can be determined by the use high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This is a process by which a mixture can be separated into its separate components or ingredients by the use of laboratory technique called as chromatography. In this process, the mixture to be separated is dissolved in a liquid, then it is passed or flushed through a stationary material (called as bed) and separated due to different rates of absorption of different materials.

It is used to separate complex compounds with high precision using the right adsorbent materials and carrier fluid. A can (12 oz.) of Pepsi has about 38 mg (milligrams) in it while a Pepsi Max has about 69 mg. A can of Mountain Dew (both regular and diet) has approximately 54 mg of caffeine (Center for Science in the Public Interest para 2). Instant coffee has 65 mg, espresso has about 80 mg while Turkish coffee has one of the highest at about 160 mg. HPLC is simply an improved version of column chromatography that used gravity to force separation but in HPLC, the process is made faster by using high pressure at up to 400 atmospheric pressure.

Works CitedBidlingmeyer, Brian A. Practical HPLC Methodology and Applications. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. Print.Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs.” 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. National Institutes of Health. “Caffeiine.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, 06 May 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. .