SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF TAURINE IN FOOD SAMPLES WITH PHENOL AND SODIUM-HYPOCHLORITE AS REAGENTS AND AN ION-EXCHANGE CLEANUP

A simple and accurate spectrophotometric method is proposed for the determination of taurine in food samples using phenol and sodium hypochlorite as reagents, which form a blue colour with taurine at room temperature and pH 10.35. Ion exchange was used to improve the selectivity of the method. Absorbance measurements were made at 630 nm and the calibration graph was linear from 0 to 180 μ,g ml-1 of taurine with a slope of 0.00242 A (p.p.m.)-1. The precision for the determination of taurine (156 ng ml-1) was 0.8% (n = 10). The method was applied successfully to the determination of taurine in milk products and energy drinks.