Rapid determination of coenzyme Q10 in cheese using high-performance liquid chromatography

Coenzyme Q10, a component of the mitochondrial energy metabolism, plays a key role in maintaining the cellular redox state. The aim of this work was to develop a chromatographic method for rapid determination of coenzyme Q10 in cheeses. Samples were subjected to alkaline digestion (70 °C for 40 min) and extracted with hexane/ethyl acetate (9:1 v/v). Coenzyme Q10 was separated by a Phenomenex Kromasil 5 μm Si 250 × 4.6 mm column and UV/Vis detector (275 nm) and eluted with an isocratic mobile phase (2-propanol 1% in n-hexane, flow rate 1.5 mL.min−1). The linearity test was described by the equation y = 13786x − 258.91, with a good correlation (R 2 = 0.9985). The limit of detection was 0.024 μg.mL−1, the limit of quantitation was 0.069 μg.mL−1, and retention time was 3.90 min. The developed HPLC method is simple, rapid and cheap, and allows a reliable quantitation of coenzyme Q10 in cheeses.