Development of a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Method for the Quantification of Glucaric Acid Derivatives in Beverage Substrates

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method using the standard addition methodology was developed for the determination of glucuronolactone (GL) and glucuronic acid (DGuA) in four beverages categorized as detoxification, recovery, or energy drinks. The method features a precolumn derivatization step with a combination of BSTFA (N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide) and TMCS (trimethylchlorosilane) to silylate the analytes. The sample pretreatment required no extraction, filtration, or reduction step prior to the injection. The quantification of the analytes was performed using a five-point standard addition protocol. The proposed method presented excellent intraday precision (%RSD < 10) and linearity for GL calibration curves (correlation coefficients > 0.995) and acceptable linearity for DGuA calibration curves (correlation coefficients > 0.97). The estimated limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for GL ranged from 0.006 ppm to 0.14 ppm, and 0.02 ppm to 0.47 ppm, respectively. The estimated LOD and LOQ for DGuA determination ranged, respectively, from 0.06 ppm to 1.1 ppm and 0.2 ppm to 3.8 ppm. The results demonstrated that the method should be regarded as a reliable alternative to the simultaneous determination of GL and DGuA.