Abstract:

This research was aimed to determine the stability of cichoric acid when it was added to different food
environments (juice, beverage, milk powder and jelly) during 3 months of storage, and investigate the influences of pH
(3, 5, 7 and 9), temperature (60, 70 and 80 ℃), metal ions (Na+, K+ and Ca2+) and ultraviolet (253.7 nm) on the stability of
cichoric acid. HPLC was used to measure the content of cichoric acid. The results showed that cichoric acid became more
and more unstable as pH and temperature went up; the influences of Na+ and K+ at the same concentrations on the stability
of cichoric acid were not significantly different, but exposure of cichoric acid to Ca2+ caused an instantaneous color change;
ultraviolet rays led to stronger degradation of cichoric acid in methanol than in water; in fruit drinks for 3 months, cichoric
acid remained 85% of its original level when stored at 25 ℃, but it was relatively stable at 4 ℃, and also had a relatively
god stability in milk powder and jelly during the storage period.

Key words: cichoric acid, food environment, stability, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)