J. Inst. Brew. vol.113:3 (2007) Folate in Beer

Folate in Beer

Janel E. Owens¹, Andrew J. Clifford¹ and Charles W. Bamforth^2,3
¹ Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
² Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
³ Corresponding author. E-mail: cwbamforth@ucdavis.edu

J. Inst. Brew. 113(3), 243–248, 2007 | VIEW ARTICLE

ABSTRACT
Folate levels in a range of beers and other beverages have been measured using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) and by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The data from the LC-MS/MS study was revealed to be unreliable, through the masquerading of polyphenol degradation products as folates. Using the HPLC-FLD procedure most beers ranged between 2.2 and 24.2 µg per bottle, or up to 6.1% of the recommended daily allowance. Some imported beers contained no detectable folate and we believe that this is due to the folate decreasing in level during storage and transportation. Wine, vodka and whiskey contained no detectable folate, while orange juice contained folate at a comparable level to that found in the beer with the highest folate.

Key words:
Beer, folate, high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.