Aim A RP- HPLC method for determination of lycopene in microcapsules was established. Methods The HPLC assay was performed on an Alltima Cls （4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5μm） column with a mixture of methanol-THF-water （66：30：4, V/V/V） as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.5 mL·min^-1 and the UV detection wavelength was 472 nm. Results The linear range of lycopene was 3.6-18 μg·mL^-1, r = 0.999 8, the average recovery was from 99.81% to 101.06% with RSD less than 1.83%. The RSD of intra-day and interday precision were less than 3.34%. Conclusion The method is simple, accurate and suitable for the determination of lycopene in microcapsules.
