Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
methods for determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and total AA (TAA) contents (as the sum of AA and dehydroascorbic
acid (DHAA) after its reduction to AA) in fruit beverages and in pharmaceutical preparations
were compared. Both methods are rapid: total time of analysis was 15 and 6 min for HPLC and UPLC
methods, respectively. The methods were validated in terms of linearity, instrument precision, limits
of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), accuracy and recovery. Intra- and inter-day instrument precisions
for fruit juices, expressed as RSD, were 2.2% and 2.4% for HPLC, respectively, and 1.7% and 1.9% for
UPLC, respectively. For vitamin C tablets, inter- and intra-day precisions were 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively
(HPLC), and 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively (UPLC). Both methods were sensitive: LOD was 0.049 lg/mL for
HPLC and 0.024 lg/mL for UPLC while LOQs were 0.149 and 0.073 lg/mL for HPLC and UPLC, respectively.
These methods could be useful in the routine qualitative and quantitative analysis of AA or TAA in pharmaceutical
preparations or fruit beverages. However, UPLC method is more sensitive, faster and consumes
less eluent.