Determination of choline in infant formula by ion chromatography

Choline was determined in infant formula by ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection. Samples were digested with 1M hydrochloric acid, filtered, diluted, and injected into the chromatographic system. Choline and the alkali and alkaline earth metals were separated on a high-resolution cation-exchange column and detected by suppressed conductivity. The method was linear between 2 and 200 mg/L (r2 = 0.9999), the concentration range of the diluted samples. This method accurately determined choline in powdered, concentrated, and ready-to-feed infant formulas. Recoveries of choline spikes into powdered infant formula at approximately 1, 0.8, 0.5, and 0.2 times the labeled value ranged from 85 to 114%. This method had good agreement for 8 blind duplicates. The values determined for these samples, which were used in an AOAC collaborative study of an enzymatic method, were consistent with the values determined by the enzymatic method.