Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Determination of theobromine and caffeine in some Malaysian beverages by liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Fouad F Al-Qaim^1,2 , Ali Yuzir¹, Zainab H Mussa^1,3

¹Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; ²Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences for Women, University of Babylon, Iraq; ³School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, National University of Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

For correspondence:- Fouad Al-Qaim Email: fouadalkaim@yahoo.com Tel:+60173394821

Accepted: 24 February 2018 Published: 31 March 2018

Citation: Al-Qaim FF, Yuzir A, Mussa ZH. Determination of theobromine and caffeine in some Malaysian beverages by liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(3):529-535 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i3.20

© 2018 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To determine the concentration of theobromine (TB) and caffeine (CF) in tea and other beverages using liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS).

Methods: The extract of caffeine and theobromine from tea and other beverages was filtered by 0.45 μm nylon micro-syringe and then injected into a LC-ToF-MS system. Theobromine and caffeine were separated using Thermo Scientific C18-column (length 250 mm, width 2.1 mm and diameter 5 μm). Acetonitrile-methanol (ACN – MeOH, 3:1 v/v) was used as mobile phase B, while mobile phase A was 0.1 % FA in DIW. The volume injected was 30 μL at a rate of 0.3 mL/min.

Results: Good linearity was obtained in the range of 0.3 – 400 and 0.2 – 200 mg/L for theobromine and caffeine, respectively (regression coefficient (R²) > 0.970). The limits of detection were 0.15 and 0.05 μg/mL for theobromine and caffeine, respectively. The highest concentrations of caffeine and theobromine determined in tea samples were 159.1 and 255.8 mg/L, respectively.

Conclusion: Theobromine and caffeine have been successfully analysed in tea, coffee and soft drinks. LC-TOF-MS is an accurate and promising instrument for the determination of the studied compounds in beverages

Keywords: Theobromine, Caffeine, Tea, Coffee, LC-TOF/MS