Tartaric Acid in Wines May Be Useful for Preventing Renal Calculi: Rapid Determination by HPLC

Abstract

HPLC has been applied to the analysis of wine samples for the rapid determination of tartaric acid. Separation of carboxylic acids was performed on a LiChrosorb RP-18 column using a mixture of water, methanol and 0.05 M phosphoric acid (69:1:30) as mobile phase. Column eluates were monitored by UV absorbance at 210 nm. Tartaric. malic. lactic, acetic and tannic acids were revealed in the HPLC profile. Tartaric acid eluted as a well-resolved peak at 3.3 min. Mean recovery of known amounts of added tartrate ranges between 94 and 106%. The concentrations of tartaric acid in different European wines have been determined. The presence of tartaric acid can be related to the chemistry of nephrolithiasis: a high amount of this acid in the diet may be useful in preventing the recurrence of calcium oxalate stones in urine. The results of HPLC analyses appear to be interesting for the choice of a wine suitable for the diet or patients suffering from renal calculi.