High pressure liquid chromatographic determination of xanthomegnin in corn

A method is described for the detection and quantitative analysis of xanthomegnin in corn samples. Initial extraction with CHCl3 in the presence of 0.5M H3PO4 is followed by additional purification using silica gel column chromatography. A high pressure liquid chromatograph equipped with a microparticle silica gel column and a 405 nm absorbance detector is used for detection and quantitation of the xanthomegnin. The identity of xanthomegnin is confirmed by thin layer chromatography on silica gel plates developed with benzene-methanol-acetic acid (90 + 5 + 5). The recovery of xanthomegnin added to corn samples at levels of 0.75--9.6 mg/kg averaged 41% with a coefficient of variation of 25%.