Determination of content of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6 in dietary supplements

Uvod "Dodaci ishrani (dijetetski suplementi) su hrana koja dopunjuje uobičajenu ishranu, i koja predstavlja kon-centrovane izvore hranljivih sastojaka ili drugih sastojaka sa hranljivim ili fiziološkim efektom, pojedinačno ili u kombinaciji, a u prometu se nala-ze u doziranim oblicima kao što su kapsule, pasti-le, tablete i slično, kesice praška, ampule tečnosti, bočice sa kapaljkom, i ostalim sličnim oblicima Abstract Use of dietary supplements is very widespread and constantly on the rise. B-group vitamins are among the most frequently used dietary supplements since factors like age, pregnancy, impaired thyroid function, anorexia, genetic factors, use of medication and alcohol increase the needs for B-group vitamins. Given that the above mentioned conditions require supplementation it is necessary that dietary supplements contain the quantities specified on the labeling. It is thus necessary to test their quality i.e., the quantities of active ingredients belonging to B-group vita-mins in dietary supplements to determine if the obtained values comply with the declared ones. Vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6 are important components of the B-complex group. In this study the content of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6 was determined in the samples of 29 different dietary supplements present on the market of the Republic of Serbia, using HPLC-DAD method with gradient elution. Obtained results have shown that, of all tested samples, 86.2% comply with the declared values for all four B-group vitamins. Values for vitamin B3 were in accordance with the declared values in all tested supplements. Of other analysed vitamins, B1 fulfilled the declared requirements in 89.7% of samples, while the quantity of active substance of vitamins B2 and B6 was within declared limits in 93.1% of tested dietary supplements. It is necessary to expand this type of studies on a larger number of samples, since controlling the declaration i.e., determining the quantity of specific active components present in supplements indirectly impacts prevention in the population subgroups in need of supplementation.