Tocopherols and Tocotrienols: an Adapted Methodology by UHPLC/MS Without Sample Pretreatment Steps

Ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UHPLC/ESI/MS) methodology was adapted for identification and quantification of tocopherols and tocotrienols in vegetable oils with no derivatization or sample preparation steps. The UHPLC analysis was performed using a C18 column and mobile phase composed of methanol: water: ammonium hydroxide (99:1:0.1 v/v/v) and isopropanol. A single mass spectrometer with electrospray on negative mode was used as a detector for tocopherols and tocotrienols. The samples were diluted in isopropanol. The limit of quantification for tocopherols was 0.006 mu g mL(-1), and the linear range was 0.006 to 0.01 mu g mL(-1); for tocotrienols, the limit of quantification was 0.002 mu g mL(-1), and the linear range of analysis was 0.002 to 0.003 mu g mL(-1). The correlation coefficients were higher than 0.99, indicating that the method has suitable linearity. The methodology has proven to be precise, reproducible, and robust for the parameters studied.