Extraction of thymol, eucalyptol, menthol, and camphor residues from honey and beeswax: Determination by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection

A gas chromatographic method to determine thymol, eucalyptol (cineole), menthol and camphor residues in honey and beeswax is proposed. To isolate the compounds, three methods involving liquid–liquid extraction with methylene chloride, distillation, or solid-phase extraction on octadecylsilica cartridges can be used. The GC separation is carried out on a 60 m×0.53 mm Stabilwax DA capillary column, using a flame ionization detector. The method is applied to the analysis of natural honey and also honey and beeswax samples from beehives treated with the above compounds.