Extraction of thymol, eucalyptol, menthol, and camphor residues from honey and beeswax -: Determination by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection

A gas chromatographic method to determine thymol, eucalyptol (cineole), menthol and camphor residues in honey and beeswax is proposed. To isolate the compounds, three methods involving liquid-liquid extraction with methylene chloride, distillation, or solid-phase extraction on octadecylsilica cartridges can be used. The GC separation is carried out on a 60 mX0.53 mm Stabilwax DA capillary column, using a flame ionization detector. The method is applied to the analysis of natural honey and also honey and beeswax samples from beehives treated with the above compounds. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B V All rights reserved.