Improved gas chromatographic analysis of naturally occurring oxygen-containing monoterpenes following prefractionation by liquid-solid chromatography

Summary A liquid-solid column chromatographic method for separation of mixtures of naturally occurring oxygen-containing monoterpenes has been developed. The LSC was carried out on a column of silica gel applying a 2.5%–50% gradient elution of ethyl ether in pentane and collecting a number of fractions. The enrichment of the various components in the fractions led to a better gas chromatographic separation and identification. The elution sequence during LSC gave extra information about the functional group of the compounds. Isomerization processes could be avoided by using purified and deactivated silica gel.