Analysis of phenolic compounds in olive oil by solid-phase extraction and ultra high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

In this study a simultaneous determination of several classes of polyphenolic compounds (benzoic acid derivates, cinnamic acid derivates, phenyl ethyl alcohols, flavones and other phenolic acids) in feed oils has been carried out by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS). Solid-phase extraction (SPE) with Diol and C18 cartridges were compared in terms of recovery and number of extracted compounds, obtaining better results when Diol cartridges were used. The analytical procedure was validated, obtaining recoveries ranging from 70% (vanillic acid) to 111% (gallic acid) with repeatability values (expressed as relative standard deviations, RSDs) lower than 20% at two concentration levels (500 and 1000 μg/kg). Limits of quantification (LOQs) were always equal or lower than 50 μg/kg except for gentisic acid (100 μg/kg). Finally the method was applied to different types of feed oils, and it can be observed that higher concentrations of polyphenols were found in olive oil, whereas pomace olive oil and sunflower oil had the lowest level of these compounds.