Intra-Laboratory Validation of Alpha-Galactosidase Activity Measurement in Dietary Supplements

Introduction: Alpha-galactosidase (alpha-Gal) is an enzyme responsible for the hydrolyzation of glycolipids and glycoprotein commonly found in dietary sources. More than 20% of the general population suffers from abdominal pain or discomfort caused by intestinal gas and by indigested or partially digested food residuals. Therefore, alpha-Gal is used in dietary supplements to reduce intestinal gases and help complex food digestion. Marketed enzyme-containing dietary supplements must be produced in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMPs). Aim: in this work we illustrated the process used to develop and validate a spectrophotometric enzymatic assay for alpha-Gal activity quantification in dietary supplements. Methods: The validation workflow included an initial statistical-phase optimization of materials, reagents, and conditions, and subsequently a comparative study with another fluorimetric assay. A final validation of method performance in terms of specificity, linearity, accuracy, intermediate-precision repeatability, and system precision was then executed. Results and conclusions: The proven method achieved good performance in the quantitative determination of alpha-Gal activity in commercial food supplements in accordance with the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals (ICH) guidelines and is suitable as a rapid in-house quality control test.

Automated summary

This study illustrated the development and validation of a spectrophotometric enzymatic assay for alpha-Gal activity quantification in dietary supplements. The method showed good performance in quantitatively determining alpha-Gal activity in commercial food supplements according to ICH guidelines, and is suitable for rapid in-house quality control testing.