Comparison of analytical techniques to quantify malondialdehyde in milk powders

Several analytical methods were compared to quantify malondialdehyde (MDA) in milk powders. Modified thiobarbituric acid (TBA) methods, using either visible spectrophotometry (direct absorbance reading or after third derivative transformation of the spectrum) or HPLC, required derivatisation at elevated temperature, which appeared to catalyse artefactual MDA formation and thus overestimate the MDA content. In contrast to the TBA derivatisation method, the measurement of MDA as the dinitrophenylhydrazone derivative by HPLC or as the phenylhydrazone product by GC-MS with a deuterated internal standard resulted in lower estimates in the ranges of 2-17- and 3-30-fold, respectively; apparently due to the milder derivatisation conditions. The estimates of MDA determined by both HPLC-UV and GC-MS techniques result in lower values which are similar in magnitude even though the GC-MS technique is more sensitive.