Determination of caffeine and vitamin B6 in energy drinks by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

The concentrations of vitamin B6 and caffeine in four different energy drinks: NOS, AMP, Full Throttle, and Rockstar were found by standard addition using high performance liquid chromatography. Energy drink sales have been increasing since 2006 and are especially targeted towards college students, therefore, it is important to be able to efficiently determine and know the concentrations of the ingredients within the drinks. The results indicated that the experimentally determined concentrations of vitamin B6 and caffeine differed significantly from the amounts listed on the Nutrition Facts found on the side of the cans. Despite this discrepancy, because both of the analytes were clearly detected using HPLC and since linear standard addition curves were produced, it was determined that HPLC provides a successful method of detecting and determining concentrations of caffeine and vitamin B6 in energy drinks.