Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric method for the qualitative and quantitative determination of disaccharides and trisaccharides in honey

An improved method has been developed to identify and quantify honey disaccharides and trisaccharides by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The procedure, based on mass spectral and retention data (“retention time windows”) determined on two capillary columns with different stationary phases allowed the identification and quantitation in honey of 16 disaccharides and 9 trisaccharides, some of which were not previously identified by GC. The reliability of the analytical results was considerably improved by the use of this procedure: several unidentified disaccharides and trisaccharides were detected, and their presence was taken into account in the quantification.