Rapid determination of the volatile components in tobacco by ultrasound‐microwave synergistic extraction coupled to headspace solid‐phase microextraction with gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry

An ultrasound‐microwave synergistic extraction coupled to headspace solid‐phase microextraction was first employed to determine the volatile components in tobacco samples. The method combined the advantages of ultrasound, microwave, and headspace solid‐phase microextraction. The extraction, separation, and enrichment were performed in a single step, which could greatly simplify the operation and reduce the whole pretreatment time. In the developed method, several experimental parameters, such as fiber type, ultrasound power, and irradiation time, were optimized to improve sampling efficiency. Under the optimal conditions, there were 37, 36, 34, and 36 components identified in tobacco from Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, and Zimbabwe, respectively, including esters, heterocycles, alkanes, ketones, terpenoids, acids, phenols, and alcohols. The compound types were roughly the same while the contents were varied from different origins due to the disparity of their growing conditions, such as soil, water, and climate. In addition, the ultrasound‐microwave synergistic extraction coupled to headspace solid‐phase microextraction method was compared with the microwave‐assisted extraction coupled to headspace solid‐phase microextraction and headspace solid‐phase microextraction methods. More types of volatile components were obtained by using the ultrasound‐microwave synergistic extraction coupled to headspace solid‐phase microextraction method, moreover, the contents were high. The results indicated that the ultrasound‐microwave synergistic extraction coupled to headspace solid‐phase microextraction technique was a simple, time‐saving and highly efficient approach, which was especially suitable for analysis of the volatile components in tobacco.