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Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0000-2251-3550

Abstract

Caffeine, theobromine and theophylline fall under a drug class known as methylxanthines. These three compounds are of major interest in the food industry due to their presence in popular foods and beverages such as tea, coffee, and chocolate. As these compounds can cause physical and mental stress at high dosages, their quantification is essential to ensure product safety and quality. Here, we describe an eco-friendly HPLC method developed to quantify the amount of these analytes in coffee samples sourced across the SETU Waterford, Cork Road campus. Using an isocratic mixture of water and methanol, a mobile phase recycling approach was developed and investigated. The method was validated by determining linearity, standard error, LOD, LOQ, and repeatability. The caffeine content of 23 beverages ranged from 376.3 mg/L to 4127.5 mg/L of coffee, displaying high variation among sample type and source outlet. Theobromine was observed in a small number of samples; theophylline was not detected in any of the studied coffee samples. Solvent waste, and hence disposal, was significantly reduced by recycling the mobile phase, without adverse analytical impact over the lifetime of the study.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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