Analysis of rebaudioside A in probiotic-fermented milk via quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Rebaudioside A is used in the food and beverage industries owing to its sweetness, even in extremely small amounts, as well as its natural origin. Liquid chromatography is commonly used to quantify rebaudioside A; however, it suffers from complicated sample pretreatment and time consumption. External-calibration quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) analysis of probiotic-fermented milk has thus far not been reported. Moreover, it involves more factors contributing to errors than internal standard approaches used in the official methods, such as those recommended by the International Organization for Standardization. In this study, we developed a method for quantifying rebaudioside A in probiotic-fermented milk using internal-calibration qNMR. This method entails a simple pretreatment step with dilution and solid-phase extraction, enabling rebaudioside A determination in five types of beverages including probiotic-fermented milk. The results revealed a recovery rate and relative standard deviation of 85.4–104 % and 1.57–4.09 %, respectively, satisfying the international guidelines. The working range of qNMR was 0.80–26.7 mg/100 g of product, and the analysis time was 10–20 min. Therefore, the proposed internal-calibration qNMR method facilitates easy, rapid, and accurate quantification of rebaudioside A in probiotic-fermented milk and is applicable for analyzing various other beverages and foods. • The steviol glycoside rebaudioside A is generally recognized as a safe sweetener. • Rebaudioside A within probiotic-fermented milk was determined using qNMR. • The recovery rate and RSD of the qNMR method satisfied the international guidelines. • Pretreatment was simple, and a rapid, highly accurate analysis was possible. • This method can be applied in the quality control of various beverages and foods.