Development and validation of a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for routine identification and purity assessment of high-purity steviol glycoside sweeteners.

The widespread application of stevia-based sweeteners in food products has resulted in the need for reliable analytical methods for measuring the purity and identity of high-purity steviol glycoside ingredients. The objective of this research was to develop and validate a new reversed-phase separation method capable of separating and quantifying nine steviol glycosides present in typical high-purity stevia extract ingredients. Results of the study established the linearity of the method at a correlation factor of 1.000 for the two major components and other minor components of this food ingredient. Method accuracy values were in the range of 99.1-100.9%. The percent relative standard deviation for six independent assay determinations was 1.0%. The method was determined to be robust for minor changes in column temperature, initial acetonitrile content, flow rate, and wavelength. The validated high-performance liquid chromatography method was found to be suitable to be included by USP as a Food Chemicals Codex compendial standard for steviol glycosides.