microbiological assays are availabl

microbiological assays are available for each water-soluble vitamin except AA. There assays were concurrently developed with, or shortly after, development of bioassays for the different vitamins earlier in the twentieth century. Therefore, the method development activities and the availability of analytical procedures that provide similar responses to longer duration bioassays played a historically significant role in understanding not only microbial metabolism but also human and animal metabolism. Interestingly, except in a few cases, methodology developed during the 1940s has remained essentially unchanged. Microbiological assay of the water-soluble vitamins continues to play a major role in current vitamin analysis programs. Although HPLC techniques are available, microbiological techniques have not been replaced by the chromatographic assaya.

Microbiological assays offer specificity and sensitivity in a cost-effective manner often not obtainable with HPLC methods