ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to determine the usefulness of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for natamycin determination in routine control of ripening cheeses. In the method the antibiotic is extracted from the studied sample with a 2:1 methanol/water solution, freezing of contaminants at -18°C and determination of HPLC using a RP Cs column and UV detection. In case of low concentrations of the antibiotic the extract was condensed by extraction to solid phase (SPE). In the study of the fortified samples the basic analytical parameters of the method were tested (determinability, repeatability, recovery) and its usefulness in the 0.05 - 0.4 mg/kg concentration range (by SPE) and above 0.5 mg/kg of cheese was checked. Recovery was from 87 to 98%, repeatability was 1.3 - 7.3% and determinability was 0.5 mg/kg (using SPE 0.05 mg/kg). The obtained results demonstrated a good usefulness of HPLC for routine control of natamycin content in ripening cheeses. It seems recommendable to apply HPLC for natamycin determination in ripening cheese by sanitary-epidemiological stations.