Although many methods have been developed for determination
of AA or TAA, both HPLC and UPLC methods proposed in this
study for determination of AA or TAA (vitamin C) in fruit beverages
and pharmaceutical preparations can be recommended as rapid,
precise and sensitive. Extraction of AA and DHAA from tested products
using 10% meta-phosphoric acid guaranteed determination of
vitamin C within 24 h without its essential loss. For fresh commercial
beverages as well as for pharmaceutical preparations, it is not
necessary to determine both AA and DHAA. Determination of vitamin
C in stored fruit juices may require determination of TAA
because oxidation of AA may occur during storage. Both methods
can be useful in the routine qualitative and quantitative analysis
of vitamin C in beverages and pharmaceutical preparations. However,
UPLC method is faster, more sensitive, consumes less eluent
and it is more eco-friendly than the conventional HPLC method.
In consequence, UPLC is cheaper than HPLC because a higher number
of analyses per unit of time can be performed and consumption
of eluent is much lower.