Liquid chromatographic determination of St. John's wort components in functional foods

A method was developed for determination of St. John's wort marker compounds hypericin, pseudohypericin, hyperforin, and adhyperforin in functional foods. Solid-phase extraction provided analyte extraction and significant sample cleanup prior to analysis using liquid chromatography (LC) with UV and fluorescence detection. In addition to quantification using LC-UV, confirmation was made with electrospray ionization LC mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Several commercially available tea and drink products claiming to contain St. John's wort were tested. Recoveries ranged from 51 to 98% for the liquid samples. Comparison of the concentrations in 4 St. John's wort teas showed a variation in analyte concentration (1044-10 ng/mL marker compounds in brewed tea) and composition. No marker compounds were found in the beverages, indicating possible decomposition of the marker compounds caused by low pH and/or exposure to light. A solvent extraction procedure was developed for analysis of the marker compounds from solid samples. Analytes were detected at low parts per million, with an average recovery of 75%. No St. John's wort components were found in the 2 solid functional food samples analyzed.     

Extraction and determination of biologically active components of St. John’s wort and its pharmaceutical preparations

A procedure is developed for the determination of biologically active substances (BAS) of common St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) by HPLC using two columns, Luna C18, 100 Å (for the determination of phenolcarboxylic acids and flavonoids), and Onyx Monolithic C18 (for the determination of phloroglucinols and naphthodianthrones), in the gradient elution mode with diode array detection. The detection limits for analytes are 0.05–0.20 μg/mL. To optimize the conditions, we studied the extraction of biologically active substances from St. John’s wort by a water–ethanol solution at different temperatures and pressures and under the effect of microwave radiation and ultrasound. The maximum amounts of substances were extracted in a dynamic mode under heat and pressure. The procedure was applied to the St. John’s wort samples of different brands and some pharmaceutical products based on it. The components of extracts were identified by retention times, UV spectra, and mass spectra. It was shown that the content of biologically active substances in pharmaceutical samples of St. John’s wort depends on the herb habitat. It was shown that hyperforin decomposed in pharmaceutical formulations based on St. John’s wort during storage.     

间接顶空固相微萃取-气相色谱-质谱法对红花香雪兰天然花香成分的分析

建立了间接顶空固相微萃取-气相色谱-质谱对红花香雪兰天然花香成分的分析方法。首先利用气体采样装置对花香成分进行固相富集,富集后的花香成分在浸提液中解析,之后利用顶空固相微萃取方法对浸提液中的花香成分进行分析。红花香雪兰花香中主要成分(沉香醇、松油醇、紫罗兰酮和二氢紫罗兰酮)定量分析优化实验条件：Florisil(弗罗里硅土)作为吸附剂,水-甲醇混合液(9∶1, V/V)和0.6 mol/L HCl作为浸提液,萃取温度70℃,平衡时间为25 min。实验结果表明,沉香醇和松油醇在1~100μg/mL范围内有良好的线性关系(R2≥0.981),检出限分别为0.05和0.10μg;二氢紫罗兰酮和紫罗兰酮在0.5~50μg/mL范围内有良好的线性关系(R2≥0.988),检出限为0.02μg。     

Qualitative screening for volatile organic compounds in human blood using solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry

A fast and simple screening procedure using solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (SPME‐GC‐MS) in full‐scan mode for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOC) is presented. The development of a fast and simple screening technique for the simultaneous determination of various volatiles is of great importance, because of their widespread use, frequent occurrence in forensic toxicological questions and the fact that there is often no hint on involved substances at the crime scene. To simulate a screening procedure, eight VOC with different chemical characteristics were chosen (isoflurane, halothane, hexane, chloroform, benzene, isooctane, toluene and xylene). To achieve maximum sensitivity, variables that influence the SPME process, such as type of fiber, extraction and desorption temperature and time, agitation and additives were optimized by preliminary studies and by means of a central composite design. The limits of detection and recoveries ranged from 2.9 µg/l (xylene) to 37.1 µg/l (isoflurane) and 7.9% (chloroform) to 61.5% (benzene), respectively. This procedure can be used to answer various forensic and toxicological questions. The short time taken for the whole analytical procedure may make its eventual adoption for routine analysis attractive. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Wort Gravity and Nitrogen Level on Fermentation Performance of Brewer’s Yeast and the Formation of Flavor Volatiles

Normal gravity wort and high gravity wort with different nitrogen levels were used to examine their effects on the fermentation performance of brewer’s yeast and the formation of flavor volatiles. Results showed that both the wort gravity and nitrogen level had significant impacts on the growth rate, viability, flocculation, and gene expression of brewer’s yeast and the levels of flavor volatiles. The sugar (glucose, maltose, and maltotriose) consumption rates and net cell growth decreased when high gravity worts were used, while these increased with increasing nitrogen level. Moreover, high gravity resulted in lower expression levels of ATF1, BAP2, BAT1, HSP12, and TDH, whereas the higher nitrogen level caused higher expression levels for these genes. Furthermore, the lower nitrogen level resulted in increases in the levels of higher alcohols and esters at high wort gravity. All these results demonstrated that yeast physiology and flavor balance during beer brewing were significantly affected by the wort gravity and nitrogen level.     

Multiple headspace extraction-capillary gas chromatography (MHE-CGC) for the quantitative determination of volatiles in contaminated soils

A multiple headspace extraction-capillary gas chromatographic method for the quantitative, accurate, and rapid determination of volatiles in multicontaminated soil samples has been developed. A thick film fused silica column has been used and a nine-step multiple headspace extraction (MHE) determination performed. Calibration was achieved by introducing 1 μl of a standard solution of mixed volatiles into empty headspace vials, the presence of the matrix being unnecessary in multiple headspace extraction. Accuracy of determination by MHE-CGC and a simple method employing standard additions have been compared.     

Stir bar sorptive extraction of volatile compounds in vinegar: validation study and comparison with solid phase microextraction

Stir bar sorptive extraction was evaluated for analysing volatiles in vinegar. The procedure developed shows detection and quantitation limits, and linear ranges adequate for analysing this type of compounds. The accuracy obtained was close to 100%, with repeatability values lower than 13%. The extraction efficiency is inversely affected by the acetic acid content. Although the absolute areas decrease, the compound area/internal standard area ratio remains constant, so for quantitative analysis, the acetic acid concentration does not affect the analytical data. The method was compared with a previous SPME method. Similar performance characteristics were obtained for both methodologies, with lower detection and quantitation limits and better repeatability reproducibility values for SBSE. Both analytical methods were used to analyse a variety of vinegars. The results obtained from both methods were in agreement.     

Optimization of headspace solid-phase microextraction by means of an experimental design for the determination of methyl tert.-butyl ether in water by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection

A procedure for determination of methyl tert.-butyl ether (MTBE) in water by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) has been developed. The analysis was carried out by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. The extraction procedure, using a 65-microm poly(dimethylsiloxane)-divinylbenzene SPME fiber, was optimized following experimental design. A fractional factorial design for screening and a central composite design for optimizing the significant variables were applied. Extraction temperature and sodium chloride concentration were significant variables, and 20 degrees C and 300 g/l were, respectively chosen for the best extraction response. With these conditions, an extraction time of 5 min was sufficient to extract MTBE. The calibration linear range for MTBE was 5-500 microg/l and the detection limit 0.45 microg/l. The relative standard deviation, for seven replicates of 250 microg/l MTBE in water, was 6.3%.     

Characterization of volatile components in dry chrysanthemum flowers using headspace-liquid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography

A headspace-liquid-phase microextraction (HS-LPME)-GC (gas chromatography) method for the characterization of volatile components in dry chrysanthemum flowers has been developed. In the proposed method, two extraction solvents, n-hexadecane and benzyl alcohol, are used for preconcentrating volatiles in the sample. A droplet of the extraction solvent is squeezed from the GC syringe and inserted in the headspace of the sample bottle with the dry flower, immersed in deionized water, and warmed in a water bath. The optimum HS-LPME parameters in terms of extraction solvent type, droplet magnitude, equilibrium (water bath) temperature, equilibrium time, extraction time, and ionic strength are achieved using GC-FID (flame ionization detection) by varying several levels of the factors that affect the HS-LPME procedure. After extraction under the optimized conditions, the extraction droplet is retracted into the syringe and injected for GC-MS (mass spectrometry) analysis. Thirty-three volatile components are extracted and identified using this HS-LPME-GC-MS method, with the aid of chemometric methods. It is shown that the volatiles in dry chrysanthemum flowers are mainly unsaturated organic compounds, such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their oxygenous derivatives, triterpenoids, and aliphatic compounds. Several representative components, in order of precedence of the retention time, are pinene (106.3 microg/g), camphene (112.7 microg/g), eucapyptol (52.1 microg/g), camphor (29.4 microg/g), borneol (4.2 microg g), bornyl acetate (67.3 microg/g), caryophyllene (0.7 microg/g), and caryophyllene oxide (20.0 microg/g). The relative standard error and detection limit of this method is 5~9% and 0.4 microg/g, respectively.     

Determination of volatile compounds in grape distillates by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure on octadecylsilica (C18) was developed for accumulation of volatile compounds from grape distillates. The procedure was optimised for final analysis by capillary gas chromatography. At mass concentrations in model solutions ranging from 0.1 to 50 mg/l solid-phase extraction recoveries of all analytes ranged from 69% for 2-phenylethanol to 102% for capric acid, with RSD values from 2 to 9%. SPE recoveries of internal standards to be added in the sample solution prior to extraction, higher alcohols 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and 1-undecanol, were 97 and 93%, respectively, with RSD values of 3%. Detection limits of analyzed compounds in model solutions ranged from 0.011 mg/l for isoamyl acetate to 0.037 mg/l for caproic acid. Method efficiency was tested in relation to acetic acid content, volume fraction of ethanol and possible matrix effects. A significant influence of matrix on SPE efficiency for geraniol, cis-2-hexen-1-ol and cis-3-hexen-1-ol was detected. For the same reason, 2-phenylethanol could not be determined by developed SPE method in samples of grape distillates. The developed solid-phase extraction method was successfully applied to determine the differences in volatile compound content in different grape distillates produced by the distillation of crushed, pressed and fermented grapes.     

Analysis of volatiles in polymers,part II. Supercritical fluid extraction/open tubular GC/MS

Summary Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) connected to open tubular gas chromatography has been used for the analysis of non-polar to medium polar volatiles entrained in polymers. This polymer sheets, prepared with the aid of a microtome, have been extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide. The influence of sample area/weight ratio and extraction cell volume on the SFE performance has been investigated. Further, quantitative analysis was executed by stepwise extractions.A set of polybutylene terephthalate polymers, originating from different manufactures, has been analysed regarding entrained volatiles.     

Organic Compounds in High Alpine Snow

Abstract

Snow samples were taken in June 1995 at the Sonnblick Observatory located at the top of Mt. Sonn-blick (3106 m a.s.l.) in the main ridge of the Austrian Alps, as part of the project “Organic Aerosol Scavenging”. The main interest focused on the determination of aliphatic compounds and phenols. First the method for the extraction of the organic compounds was developed using standard samples prepared in the lab. The preconcentration of the samples was performed by liquid-liquid extraction with hexane and hexane/diethylether respectively. To characterize the analytical procedure, the efficiency of the extraction procedure, the reproducibility of the overall method and the detection limits were determined. Values for the recovery of the extraction method range from 57% (fatty acids) to 95% (aliphatic alcohols). Reproducibility was found to be between 3-5%, except for the fatty acids which gave a value of 16%. Detection limits were calculated for the various substances and are between 5μg/l (phenols) and 30μg/l (fatty acids). The analysis of the eight snow samples were performed using a GC-MS-FID system. The following compounds were identified as major compounds in the snow samples: 1-dodecanol, 1-tetradecanol, 1-hexadecanol, 1-octadecanol, 2-isobutyl-4-methoxy-phenol, diisobutylphenol and dibutylphthalate. The aliphatic alcohols are of biogenic origin and are present in a concentration range from 30 to 115 μg/l melted snow. The phenols show concentrations between 5 and 30 μg/l and the phthalates range up to 40 μg/l.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic microassay for methyl ethyl ketone in urine as the 2,4-dinitrophenyl-hydrazone derivative.

We report a high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure for determining methyl ethyl ketone in urine. The method is based on pre-column derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and liquid-liquid extraction of the derivative. The analyte is chromatographically separated from other urine constituents in less than 12 min and is detected by UV absorption at 360 nm. Peak height and concentration are linearly related. The relative standard deviation assessed for within-day imprecision was 3.2% at the 2.21 mg/l level. The mean analytical recovery from urines spiked with 1.0 mg/l ketone was 96.0 +/- 6.1%. The simple sample handling, the small volume of urine required and the short amount of time taken for the whole procedure make it suitable for routine biomonitoring of exposure to methyl ethyl ketone in industrial workers. The concentration in urine from nine non-exposed controls was less than 0.1 mg/l. The concentrations measured in urine samples from 60 exposed workers ranged from 0.1 to 1.1 mg/l and from 0.3 to 3.6 mg/l at the before- and the end-shift collections, respectively.     

Development of a solid-phase microextraction method for determination of volatile oxidation compounds in fish oil emulsions

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) is proposed for isolating and determining the headspace volatiles formed during oxidation of fish-oil-in-water emulsions. Three different fiber coatings were tested and compared for sensitivity and reproducibility. A carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR-PDMS) fiber coating was found to be the most suitable for the analysis of emulsion volatiles. The main factors affecting the microextraction process on CAR-PDMS were then evaluated by a factorial design: amount of sample, time and temperature of extraction and stirring. The incubation of 0.5 g of emulsion at 60 degrees C during 30 min leads to the most effective extraction of volatiles associated with lipid oxidation of fish oil emulsions. The HS-SPME method coupled with GC-MS allowed the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the volatiles derived from oxidation of real fish oil enriched foods such as milk and mayonnaise. The method here proposed is very fast and simple and yields high sensitivity, with good repeatability for all target compounds.     

Development and evaluation of methods for determination of naphthodianthrones and flavonoids in St. John's wort

Several major constituents in St. John's wort were determined for a homogenized plant sample. Three extraction techniques were evaluated: Soxhlet extraction, pressurized-fluid extraction (PFE), and sonication extraction. Levels of nine constituents (chlorogenic acid, rutin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin, amentoflavone, pseudohypericin, and hypericin) were measured using liquid chromatography with ultraviolet/visible absorbance, mass spectrometric, and fluorescence detection. Levels of total naphthodianthrones determined by liquid chromatography (LC) with absorbance detection at 590 nm were compared with levels determined by direct spectrophotometry at the same wavelength. Additionally, the methods described in this paper were applied to several brands of St. John's wort finished products.     

Trace analysis of chlorobenzenes in water samples using headspace solvent microextraction and gas chromatography/electron capture detection

In the present work, a rapid method for the extraction and determination of chlorobenzenes (CBs) such as monochlorobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene in water samples using the headspace solvent microextraction (HSME) and gas chromatography/electron capture detector (ECD) has been described. A microdrop of the dodecane containing monobromobenzene (internal standard) was used as extracting solvent in this investigation. The analytes were extracted by suspending a 2.5 μl extraction drop directly from the tip of a microsyringe fixed above an extraction vial with a septum in a way that the needle passed through the septum and the needle tip appeared above the surface of the solution. After the extraction was finished, the drop was retracted back into the needle and injected directly into a GC column. Optimization of experimental conditions such as nature of the extracting solvent, microdrop and sample temperatures, stirring rate, microdrop and sample volumes, the ionic strength and extraction time were investigated. The optimized conditions were as follows: dodecane as the extracting solvent, the extraction temperature, 45 °C; the sodium chloride concentration, 2 M; the extraction time, 5.0 min; the stirring rate, 500 rpm; the drop volume, 2.5 μl; the sample volume, 7 ml; the microsyringe needle temperature, 0.0 °C. The limit of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.1 μg/l (for 1,3-dichlorobenzene) to 3.0 μg/l (for 1,4-dichlorobenzene) and linear range of 0.5–3.0 μg/l for 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene and from 5.0 to 20.0 μg/l for monochlorobenzene and from 5.0 to 30 μg/l for 1,4-dichlorobenzene. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) for most of CBs at the 5 μg/l level were below 10%. The optimized procedure was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of CBs in different water samples.     

Analysis of anatoxin-a in freshwaters by automated on-line derivatization-liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

Anatoxin-a is a toxin produced from cyanobacterial blooms in freshwaters. In order to determine trace anatoxin-a in freshwaters, an automated on-line derivatization procedure with fluorenyl methylchloroformate using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was developed. Anatoxin-a was extracted using solid-phase extraction with adequate recovery (75.7+/-7.2%, n=6) at 20 ng/l. The limits of quantification and detection were calculated to be 15.2 ng/l and 2.1 ng/l, respectively, using selected ion monitoring.     

Determination of aromatic amine mutagens,PBTA-1 and PBTA-2, in river water by solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

We describe a novel method for the determination of two kinds of aromatic amine mutagens, 2-[2-(acetylamino)-4-[bis(2-methoxyethyl)-amino]-5-amino-7-bromo-4-chloro-2H-benzotriazole (PBTA-1) and 2-[2-(acetylamino)-4-[bis(2-cyanoethyl)-ethylamino]-5-amino-7-bromo-4-chloro-2H-benzotriazole (PBTA-2), in river water based on liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS). A solid-phase extraction procedure was used for the extraction of PBTA-1 and PBTA-2 from river water. The procedure was rapid and the relative standard deviations were below 4%. The detection limits of PBTA-1 and PBTA-2 in river water using the proposed method were found to be 1 and 2 ng/l, respectively. The compounds were detected by this method in river water taken from two sites in the Yodo River system at the ng/l level.     

Rapid trace analysis of alachlor in water and vegetable samples

The use of a rapid and specific (cross-reactivity<4%) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the determination of alachlor residues in water and vegetable samples is addressed. The analytical method consists of a fast extraction procedure followed by an optimised ELISA. The detection limit was 0.44 microg l(-1), with a linear range from 0.89 to 143.2 microg l(-1). For alachlor extraction from water samples, different solid-phase cartridges (C, Ph, C8 and C2) were assayed using MeOH as eluent. Extracts were diluted (1:4) with distilled water before ELISA. This procedure gave recoveries close to 100% with RSDs<14%. For vegetable samples, alachlor was extracted directly with MeOH and the extracts diluted 1:40 (v/v) with saline buffer prior to ELISA. The results obtained by the proposed procedure correlate well with the reference method (multiresidue extraction-GC-MS) for vegetable samples (r>0.85).     

Isolation of Some Soluble and Dispersed Materials of Oregano Water

Recent results obtained on determining the extraction efficiency and composition of organic volatiles in Oregano Water obtained from Origanum onites L. are described. Oregano Water was subjected to liquid-liquid extraction with a range of solvents with different polarities and each extract was analyzed by GC/MS.