Simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds and tocopherols in virgin olive oil using HPLC and UV detection

A simple procedure is described for the simultaneous extraction and HPLC determination of phenols and tocopherols in virgin olive oil. The extraction was carried out using methanol and an isopropanol- methanol mixture. Separation was achieved on a reversed phase C18 column with acetic acid/water-methanol-acetonitrile-isopropanol mixture under gradient elution. Detection was accomplished with UV detection at λ=280 nm. Using this method, simple and complex phenols as well as α-tocopherol can be determined in one run. Phenolic compounds were totally extracted whereas an average recovery of 80% was achieved for α-tocopherol. Validation of method is reported for olive oil samples with varying concentrations of α-tocopherol and phenolic compounds.