Abstract: A new method was developed for direct determination of sodium cyclamate in food additives by ion chromatograph coupled with electrical conductivity detector based on high water solubility and ionization characteristics of sodium cyclamate. Sodium cyclamate in samples were extracted into deionized water by shaking, separated on an anion exchange column using 30 mmol/L KOH aqueous solution as elution solvent and detected by an electrolytic conductivity detector. The method showed good linearity over the concentration range of 5－200 μg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 and a detection limit of 0.087 μg/mL. The intraday and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 3% and 2% respectively. The method was simple and stable without complex sample pretreatment, and allowed easy, rapid and accurate determination of sodium cyclamate in food additives.

Key words: ion chromatography, food additives, sodium cyclamate