Caffeine is commonly present in sports nutrition supplements, especially in pre-workout products, energy drinks, capsules and fat-loss supplements. Due to its widespread availability on the market and the lack of strict limitations on caffeine content in everyday products, the recommended daily intake can be easily exceeded, which may lead to adverse effects. Therefore, it is important that caffeine content in these products is properly labelled and consistent with the manufacturer's declaration.
The aim of this master's thesis was to determine the caffeine content in selected sports nutrition supplements and to compare the measured values with the declared ones. A total of 25 sports nutrition supplements were analysed, ranging from powders and capsules to liquids and gels.
Caffeine was determined using liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (DAD). Three chromatographic methods were tested, with method B failing to provide sufficient peak separation. Methods A and C were then used for measuring the caffeine content of all samples and the results of both methods were compared. Method C was selected for the final evaluation of samples due to better peak separation in some of the more complex samples. The linearity of the method was confirmed in the range of 10–30 µg/mL, with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.999. The accuracy of the instrumental part of the method was considered acceptable, as the agreement between the measured and theoretical values was within the range of 95–105 %. The repeatability of injection was also considered acceptable, with a relative standard deviation below 2 %.
Most samples were within the predefined deviation range of ± 15 %, while larger deviations were observed in some samples, in certain cases exceeding 50 %. This may represent a risk, particularly in products with higher caffeine content and in users that consume multiple supplements simultaneously.
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