HPLC Determination of Benzoic Acid, Saccharin, and Caffeine in Carbonated Soft Drinks Doris O. Seyinde 1 , Ikechukwu P. Ejidike 1 *, Segun Ayejuyo 2 1 Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Science Education, Anchor University, Lagos,Nigeria 2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria Abstract : With increase in worlds populace, the demand for soft drinks is increasing, hence, additives utilized during drinks preparations have become a global health challenge as a result of adverse health effectson consumers. In this paper, a reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method that could simultaneously and quantitatively determine the amount of saccharin, caffeine and benzoic acid in soft drinks samples was utilized. It involved the use of ahypersil C-18 column and a binary eluent consisting of 10% acetic acid in ultra pure water. The analysis of the results showed the regular cola caffeine content was 0.13±0.03mg/mL and benzoic acid content of fanta 0.67±0.01 mg/mL. The linearity of the calibration curve for all additives gave R 2 >0.99. Relative standard deviations of 0.68, 0.08 and 1.44% were found for the qualification of saccharin, caffeine and benzoic acid confirming good precision. The results, therefore, emphasized the significance of a robust monitoring procedures for these additives by the public and food health establishments in Nigeria. Keywords : HPLC, Food Additives, Benzoic Acid, Retention Times, Saccharin, Caffeine. 1. Introduction Artificial sweeteners, preservatives and dyes arewidely added to soft drinks either to enhance the flavor and appearance or to extend their shelf life by preventing biological degradation[1-3]. Soft drinks have become part of the global lifestyle since the nineteenth century and many of the soft drinksbeing consumedat present are the same as those first enjoyed centuries ago. The ingredients used in soft drink beverages are approved and closely regulated by bodies such as the US food and Drug Administrator or the food standard agencies in the UK [4,5]. Since several of these additives are prepared by chemical synthesis, their presence in food is the cause of extensive consumers mistrust, in that they may exhibit adverse health effects [6, 7]. Consequently, many governmentsentities have set threshold value for the acceptable daily intake (ADI) varying from country to country. In particular, the European community has set legal limits for the maximum content of these additives in many foodstuffs [8,9]. Benzoic acid is often added to drinks as a preservative in form of its salts, sodium benzoate, potassium benzoate, calcium benzoate, benzene carboxylic acid and phenilcarboxylic acid[5, 10]. Under acidic conditions, Ikechukwu P. Ejidike et al /International Journal of ChemTech Research, 2019,12(4): 15-23. DOI= http://dx.doi.org/10.20902/IJCTR.2019.120403 International Journal of ChemTech Research CODEN (USA): IJCRGG, ISSN: 0974-4290, ISSN(Online):2455-9555 Vol.12 No.04, pp 15-23, 2019