Rapid analysis of 6-methoxymellein in carrots by boiling water extraction, solid phase extraction and HPLC

By modification and combination of existing methods we have developed a rapid method for quantification of 6-methoxymellein in carrot roots by means of boiling water and solid phase extraction, followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The performance of the method was found to be acceptable, when tested by three consecutive boiling water extractions from carrot samples with different levels of 6-methoxymellein. The recovery was 96–99% after one extraction. With this method it was possible for one person to extract 20 samples during a working day and further quantify the amount of 6-methoxymellein by automatic HPLC the following night.