DETERMINATION OF AMINO-ACIDS IN FOOD AND FEED BY DERIVATIZATION WITH 6-AMINOQUINOLYL-N-HYDROXYSUCCINIMIDYL CARBAMATE AND REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION

A study of a new amino acid analysis method using 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hy droxysuccinimidyl carbamate as a precolumn derivatization reagent for the analysis of food and feed is described, All amino acids, including methionine sulfone and cysteic acid, were well separated an a liquid chromatographic system using the optimized chromatographic conditions, Salts in food and feed interfered very slightly with the derivatizati on yields of all amino acids, Several typical agricultural products an d animal feeds, including 2 AOAC test samples, were analyzed with the method. The results agreed well with the data generated by using the c lassical postcolumn method with ion-exchange chromatography, The avera ge relative standard deviations for corn and broiler starter feed were 0.74 and 0.70%, respectively, Good recoveries of all amino acids were demonstrated (average, 101%), even for a sample with a very complex m atrix.