Separation and characterization of sucrose esters from Oriental tobacco leaves using accelerated solvent extraction followed by SPE coupled to HPLC with ion-trap MS detection

Sucrose esters (SEs) were successfully extracted from Oriental tobacco leaves using a new methodology based on accelerated solvent extraction followed by hydrophilic–lipophilic balanced cartridge cleanup step. The SEs were detected by HPLC with ion-trap MS detection using an electrospray interface operated in the positive ion mode. This methodology combines the high efficiency of extraction provided by a pressurized fluid and the highly sensitive characterization offered by ion-trap MS. Under the optimized conditions, 14 SEs were first identified among a total of 23 SEs found in Oriental tobacco leaves. Under the same conditions, only four new SEs were extracted by using traditional ultrasound-assisted extraction and liquid–solid extraction methods. The present method might be potentially useful in high-efficiency extraction and sensitive characterization of SEs from complex matrices such as tobacco leaves.