Ion chromatographic determination of three fructooligosaccharide oligomersin prepared and preserved foods

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are short-chain sugars that occur naturally an d have dietary benefits for humans. They are widely distributed in nature a nd are a natural part of the human diet. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of 1-kestose (GF(2)), nystose (GF(3)), and 1( F)-beta -fructofuranosylnystose (GF(4)) in a variety of common processed an d prepared foods. An ion chromatographic method was developed for this purp ose in which the sugar concentrations were measured using integrated ampero metry. The samples were simply prepared by blending with water and filterin g the suspensions through a 10000 Da cutoff centrifugal filter. These sampl es were then injected into the ion chromatograph, which had been programmed for gradient elution, and the areas of the sugar peaks obtained compared t o those of standard sugars on a calibration curve. Selected samples were pr epared both with and without standard spikes in order to assess the efficie ncy of the determination. Of the vegetables investigated, artichokes contai ned by far the most FOS, followed by onions; bananas contained more FOS tha n other fruits investigated. The method was shown to be simple, convenient, and relatively fast for the quantitation of FOS in processed and prepared food products.