Capillary zone electrophorsis for the analysis of naturally occurring 2‐hydroxycitric acids and their lactones

A simple capillary zone electrophoresis method with direct ultraviolet detection has been developed for the analysis of naturally occurring diastereomeric 2‐hydroxycitric acid lactones. Using 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer of pH 7, a baseline resolution Rs > 3.0 was observed for all organic acids selected for the present study. This method was employed for the quantitative determination of title acids present in the plant sources namely Garcinia cambogia fruit rinds and Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx. Conversion of 2‐hydroxycitric acids to their lactones on heating the above plant sources is deliberated. The Hydrolysis of hydroxycitric acid lactones in aqueous solution is reported for the first time.