A method for the simultaneous determination of four tocopherols, four tocotrienols, four phytosterols, â-carotene and squalene by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed. After saponification, the samples were extracted with petroleum ether, and the extract solution was concentrated by rotary evaporation. The residue was dried under a N2 atmosphere and dissolved with methanol. The 14 nutrients were separated on a Poroshell 120 PFP column (150 mm?3.0 mm, 2.7 ìm) by gradient elution with 0.1% (v/v) formic acid aqueous solution and methanol containing 0.1%(v/v) formic acid as the mobile phases at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The detection was performed using an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-mass spectrometer with selective reaction monitoring (SRM) in positive mode. The results were linear in the range of 0.05-10.0 mg/L for the 14 nutrients, and the correlation coefficients (r) were no less than 0.9971. The average recoveries of the 14 nutrients in the vegetable oil samples ranged from 80.7% to 100.5% at three spiked levels, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 6.0%. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.01 to 0.30 ìg/g. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 0.04-1.00 ìg/g. The proposed method is sensitive, accurate, fast and stable, and is suitable for the simultaneous determination of the 14 nutrients in vegetable oil samples.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Limit of Detection