Detection of organic acids in Chinese sauerkraut fermentation process with HPLC

Objective To detect 6 kinds of organic acid in Chinese sauerkraut and variations of the acids in Chinese sauerkraut fermentation process with high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).Methods Agilent C₁₈ column(250 nm×4.6 mm,5μm) was applied with a mobile phase of 0.05% phosphoric acid-methol solution(90:10);the gradient was selected at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min;the ultraviolet detector was set at 210 nm.The variations in organic acids contents in natural fermentation and inoculated fermentation of Chinese sauerkraut were compared.Results The correlation coefficient was from 0.9995 to 0.9999,and the recovery rate of organic acids in the Chinese sauerkraut samples varied from 97.43% to 98.56%.During the fermentation process,acetic acid content increased first and then decreased,while contents of other acids increased gradually.The contents of lactic,acetic,and oxalic acid in inoculated fermentation were higher than those in natural fermentation.Conclusion The contents of organic acids in Chinese sauerkraut processed with inoculated fermentation are higher than those with natural fermentation.