Use of hollow fibre-based liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection for the determination of phenolic acids in fruit juices

This paper describes a simple method based on three-phase hollow-fibre liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) for the determination of phenolic acids in fruit juices. Analytes including gallic acid, p-hydroxy benzoic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and cinnamic acid were separated and determined using high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection (HPLC–DAD). Parameters affecting the enrichment factors (EFs) were investigated. These compounds were extracted from 5 mL aqueous samples (pH 2) to a thin layer of organic solvent (hexyl acetate) phase impregnated into the pores of the polypropylene hollow fibre wall, and then back extracted to a basic acceptor solution (0.02 M NaOH). EFs ranged from 15 (gallic acid) to 408 (cinnamic acid). The RSD of the method for the analysis of spiked water and fruit juice samples varied from 3.1% to 11.3%. The LODs ranged from 0.01 (cinnamic acid) to 2.0 (caffeic acid) μg/L.