Abstract

The present study carried out simultaneous analysis of water soluble vitamins (thiamine, pyridoxine, niacin, folic acid and ascorbic acid) in some foods prepared by a Nigerian eatery using a reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. The results (mg /100 g) indicate that pyridoxine ranged from 0.16 in amala to 1.14 in fried rice, niacin from 0.18 in doughnut to 0.70 in meat pie, thiamine from 0.30 in doughnut to 2.40 in cowpea. Ascorbic acid was lowest in doughnut and highest in eba composite meal while folic acid ranged from 30 μg /100 g in doughnut to 195 μg /100 g in meat pie. Thiamine was significantly higher in village kitchen meals and below detection limit in meal of rice alone. The gram per serving of the village kitchen would give 108-200% and 32-48 % of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for thiamine and folic acid, respectively, whereas the level of ascorbic acid was too low to meet the RDA. The study shows that fast foods have low content of water soluble vitamins and its consumption could compromise intake of some vitamins.

Key words:    Thiamine, pyridoxine, niacin, folic acid, ascorbic acid, eatery.