Integrating HPLC-determined vitamins A, E and B-complex (B₁, B₂, B₃, B₆, B₉) with population intake estimates:...

Purpose To quantify seven dietary vitamins and estimate their mean daily intakes and major food sources among Cuban adults through the country's first Total Diet Study.Methods Standardized 24-hour dietary recalls were collected from 450 adults across Western, Central, and Eastern Cuba between October 2020 and March 2021. Foods were classified into 16 groups, prepared as consumed, homogenized, and analyzed using validated high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and fluorescence detection. Vitamin concentrations were combined with mean food consumption to estimate daily intakes, which were compared with nutritional reference values.Results Estimated mean daily intakes were 831 µg retinol equivalents for vitamin A, 6.8 mg α-tocopherol equivalents for vitamin E, 1.6 mg thiamine, 1.8 mg riboflavin, 32 mg niacin equivalents, 2.7 mg pyridoxine, and 220 µg dietary folate equivalents. Mean intakes of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and pyridoxine exceeded the adult reference values used in the study, whereas vitamin E and folate reached 68% and 55% of their respective benchmarks. Dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and fish were major vitamin A sources; meats and legumes contributed substantially to thiamine intake, and vegetables and legumes were the leading folate sources.Conclusion The reported mean intake estimates identify vitamin E and folate as priorities for dietary improvement in Cuba. Promoting nutrient-rich foods and evaluating selective fortification could help address these gaps. These population mean estimates do not establish individual nutritional adequacy or deficiency prevalence; further assessment of usual intake distributions and nutritional biomarkers is warranted.