Purine content of selected canadian food products

Levels of purine bases (adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine) were determined in 31 fresh or processed food products selected from the Total Diet Study of the Health Protection Branch. Food products were analyzed for moisture, lipid, and protein contents. Freeze-dried and defatted samples were hydrolyzed with perchloric acid for 1 h at 100°C for the quantitative liberation of bases from nucleic acids. Purine bases were then analyzed by reverse-phase liquid chromatography. Meat products contained the highest concentration of purine bases. Organ meats had the highest total purine content but all the meat samples contained equivalent amounts of the uricogenic bases (adenine + hypoxanthine). The purines were lowest in bread and dairy products and some bases were as high in mushrooms as in some meats. A wide natural variation for individual bases and for total purines occurred in each food group.