TITLE:
Development and Validation of a Single HPLC Method for Analysis of Purines in Fish Oil Supplements
AUTHORS:
Liton Roy, Chad C. Harrell, Alan S. Ryan, Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, Frederick D. Sancilio
KEYWORDS:
Purines; Chromatography; Gout; Uric Acid; Omega-3 Fatty Acids
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.4 No.12,
December
5,
2013
ABSTRACT: Gout is one of the most common forms
of inflammatory arthritis, affecting over 8 million adults in the US.
Individuals with gout are advised to avoid the habitual intake of purine-rich
foods such as meats, seafood, purine-rich vegetables, and animal protein. An
increased risk of developing or having subsequent attacks of gout is
particularly associated with the consumption of seafood. However, clinical
studies have shown that certain seafood and fish oil supplements that contain
large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids provide important cardiovascular benefits.
Individuals who might benefit from omega-3 fatty acid supplementation may therefore
avoid fish oil products because they contain purines. Currently, there are no
distinct high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods available in the
literature that are validated as per the International Conference on
Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines
for the analysis of omega-3 fatty acid oils or fish oil containing products for
purine content. A robust, fast, and efficient reversed-phase high-performance
liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for the
specific analysis of the naturally occurring purines guanine, purine,
theobromine, and adenine. These purines are often found in fish oil and seafood.
The analytical method reported herein quantifies all four purines in fish oil
in about 20 minutes.