Rapidly measure cholesterol in confectionery with new method, say researchers

Researchers have developed a method to quickly determine cholesterol levels in chocolate and sandwich-type biscuits that was not previously possible, they claim.

Jang-Hyuk Ahn and a team of Korean researchers say that their ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method rapidly obtains cholesterol levels in emulsified confectionery which could be used to quickly provide information for nutrition labels globally.

Quick analysis

“There is no certified reference method that can determine cholesterol levels in confectioneries containing milk components, such as cream pies, cream sandwich-type biscuits, plate chocolate, and chocobars, despite the fact that large amounts of it are consumed worldwide,” said the researchers in their study published in the European Journal of Lipid Science Technology.

“A rapid analytical method for determining the cholesterol concentration in emulsified confectioneries was developed by using UPLC,” they said.

“Our method enables rapid analysis of cholesterol concentration and provides prompt information, which may be used for nutrition labeling of confectionery products consumed worldwide,” they continued.

Confectionery-specific

The researchers said that other methods, such as those developed by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and the International Dairy Federation (IDF), were slower and were not directly applicable to confectionery.

Although cholesterol is fundamental to biological processes in confectionery production, high blood cholesterol levels can lead to artery damage and heart disease.

The research was supported by a grant from the Korea Food & Drug Administration.

Study:

Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2012, 114, 1304–1311

DOI: 10.1002/ejlt.201200149

‘Rapid determination of cholesterol in emulsified confectioneries by ultra-performance liquid chromatography’

Authors: Jang-Hyuk Ahn, In-Seek Jeong, Byung-Man Kwak, Donggil Leem, Taehyung Yoon, Changyong Yoon, Jayoung Jeong, Jung-Min Park and Jin-Man Kim.