Examination of the diphenylpropanoids of nutmeg as their trimethylsilyl, triethylsilyl and tri-n-propylsilyl derivatives using combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Ethyl acetate extracts of thirteen samples of nutmeg and one sample of mace were examined as trimethylsilyl and tri-n-propylsilyl derivatives by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Eleven compounds derived from two types of diphenylpropanoid were identified; the relative proportions and quantities of these compounds varied considerably in the different samples. Single ion chromatograms were used to obtain the relative concentration of one series of compounds. Preparation of the triethylsilyl and tri-n-propylsilyl derivatives resulted in greatly increased separation of the diphenylpropanoids over trimethylsilyl derivatives, which tended to produce a group of compounds with many unresolved peaks.