ANALYSIS OF SOME FOOD COMPONENTS BY THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY ON UNCONVENTIONAL LAYERS

TLC is highly suitable for the analysis of food components. In this pa per we report the possibilities and advantages of unconventional (star ch and talc) layers in food analysis. Starch and talc layers have spec ific characteristics and are very simple to use. We have developed pro cedures for qualitative and quantitative determination of organic acid s, amino acids, sugars, vitamins and fruit pigments in fruit juice and pulp and also used the techniques to monitor the effects of new food- processing technology. The results obtained are discussed on the basis of layer characteristics, the chemical structures of the separated co mpounds, and the technology used to process the food.