Determination of vitamin E in animal feeds by normal phase high pressure liquid chromatography

A simple and rapid quantitative method for the determination of vitamin E in animal feeds is described. The method involves direct extraction with a mixture of isooctane--1,4-dioxane (80 + 20) followed by saponification. Additional purification was achieved by using a silica gel Sep-Pak. Elution time for vitamin E alcohol was 7.98 min (standard deviation (SD) 0.06) using a Partisil-10 PAC column and an isocratic mobile phase of hexane--dichloromethane--isopropanol (70 + 30 + 0.2) with a flow rate of 1 mL/min, and detection at 292 nm and 0.01 AUFS by a variable UV monitor. The average recovery of vitamin E was 96.64% (SD 5.19) in 4 different animal feeds. The method compared favorably with the official AOAC method. The minimum detectable amount of vitamin E in an animal feed is 10 IU/kg.