Carbonated beverages and HPLC - "Together tastes better"
Today, November 19th, is National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day in the USA. Do you find this designation strange? No, not at all. Hardly any drink accompanies most people for a lifetime like the sweet tasting soda drink. Even if you don't drink it, you still consume the omnipresent advertising. Perhaps Santa Claus owes a part of his celebrity to the drink.
There are some things in your life you probably never forget like first day of school, first kiss, first car, and perhaps first sip of COLA. That sip refreshed you, invigorated you, and delighted your taste buds... that's the bright side. The flip side was the admonishing words of your parents, "if you drink too much, you won't be able to sleep." Later the warnings of teachers, nutritionists, and doctors preaching, "too much sugar and you’ll get diabetes." Even switching to sugar-free versions of the soft drink can present the health-endangering effects of artificial sweeteners. In addition to all of this, there is the age-old discussion whether Coca Cola or Pepsi tastes better. This argument perhaps as monumental as debating if the Beatles or the Rolling Stones are the biggest band of all time. Regardless your stance on Coca Cola and Pepsi, these carbonated concoctions are here to stay so happy National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day!
The HPLC application examines an undesignated cola beverage. It shows the analysis of a disaccharide sucrose as main ingredient and the two monosaccharides: fructose and glucose
The separation was performed on a special mixed-mode polysterene-divinylbenzene resin based column, particularly developed for sugar analysis under purely aqueous elution conditions.(1)
Access to application: Determination of sugars in Cola and Cola light
Sugar content and composition of sweeteners can vary in different countries. It is interesting note that supposedly ‘healthy fruit juices’ containing high pulp content can have similarly high sugar contents like Colas. It is just like with everything…
Enjoy everything in moderation and “Life tastes good.”
References:
(1) MACHEREY-NAGEL, LC Department
