TARTARIC ACID IN WINES MAY BE USEFUL FOR PREVENTING RENAL CALCULI - RAPID-DETERMINATION BY HPLC

HPLC has been applied to the analysis of wine samples for the rapid de termination of tartaric acid. Separation of carboxylic acids was perfo rmed on a LiChrosorb RP-18 column using a mixture of water. methanol a nd 0.05 M phosphoric acid (69:1:30) as mobile phase. Column eluates we re monitored by UV absorbance at 210 nm. Tartaric, malic. lactic, acet ic and tannic acids were revealed in the HPLC profile. Tartaric acid e luted as a well-resolved peak at 3.3 min. Mean recovery of known amoun ts of added tartrate ranges between 94 and 106%. The concentrations of tartaric acid in different European wines have been determined. The p resence of tartaric acid can be related to the chemistry of nephrolith iasis: a high amount of this acid in the diet may be useful in prevent ing the recurrence of calcium oxalate stones in urine. The results of HPLC analyses appear to be interesting for the choice of a wine suitab le for the diet of patients suffering from renal calculi.