A simple method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pah) in edible oil employing solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge purification

This paper reports a simple, fast, and inexpensive method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in edible oils. The sample was dissolved in solvents, and a portion of the solution was loaded onto a solid phase extraction cartridge. The oil from the cartridge was washed away by isooctane/cyclohexane mixture and the absorbed PAHs were eluted with hexane/ dichloromethane mixture. GC-tandem MS was used to analyze 15 PAHs of EU priority in sesame oil and perilla oil. Analytical limits of determination (LOD) were 0.01–0.06 μg/kg, limits of quantitation (LOQ) were 0.03–0.17 μg/kg, and the recovery values ranged 55.1–105.0%. This method was validated using the certified reference material (CRM) and the error values ranged 2.06–4.30%. Twentyone commercial samples were analyzed to determine their PAHs contamination levels. The total concentration of the 15 PAHs in commercial samples ranged from not detected to 9.627 μg/kg. Only 1 sample had excessive benzo(a)pyrene content, which was more than 2.0 μg/kg.