Characterization of sugar composition in Chinese royal jelly by ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

An ion chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection (IC-PAD) method was developed for the determination of sugars in royal jelly (RJ). The method enables quantification of 19 sugars with higher sensitivity than HPLC method. Good linearity was observed in the range of 0.02-500 mg L-1 with coefficients of determination (R-2) >= 0.9994. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 1.0-110 mu g L-1 and 3.7-380 mu g L-1, respectively. The average recoveries ranged from 91.0% to 108.0%. This simple method can be an effective alternative to GC method, which requires complicated purification and derivatization steps. It was used for the analysis of 100 Chinese RJ samples from three different areas and the results of analyzed sugars were found to be in agreement with those reported in literatures. The sugar profile results have suggested that some minor sugars are better markers for discrimination in relation to geographical origin.