pulegone and anethole

A straightforward GC-MS method was developed to determine the occurrence of fourteen flavouring compounds in food. It was successfully validated for four generic types of food (liquids, semi-solids, dry solids and fatty solids) in terms of limit of quantification, linearity, selectivity, matrix effects, recovery (53-120%) and repeatability (3-22%). The method was applied to a survey of 61 Dutch food products. The survey was designed to cover all the food commodities for which the EU Regulation 1334/2008 set maximum permitted levels. All samples were compliant with EU legislation. However, the levels of coumarin (0.6-63 mg/kg) may result in an exposure that, in case of children, would exceed the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.1mg/kg bw/day. In addition to coumarin, estragole, methyl-eugenol, (R)-(+)-pulegone and thujone were EU-regulated substances detected in thirty-one of the products. The non-EU regulated alkenylbenzenes, trans-anethole and myristicin, were commonly present in beverages and in herbs-containing products.

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Anisoles; Benzyl Compounds; Beverages; Bicyclic Monoterpenes; Coumarins; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Dioxolanes; Eugenol; Flavoring Agents; Food Analysis; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Limit of Detection; Monoterpenes; Pyrogallol; Quality Control; Reproducibility of Results

A new, simple and versatile method is presented for the determination of different concentration levels of alkenylbenzenes (eugenol, isoeugenol, eugenol methyl ether, myristicin, anethole and estragole) and the related flavour compounds (coumarin and pulegone) in food samples. The method involves the use of a stationary phase (capillary column) for the enrichment with appropriate elution. After the sample had completely passed through the capillary column the eluent was changed and the separation/detection was achieved. Excellent linearity was obtained under the proposed conditions for a direct determination method and a method including on-line preconcentration. The limits of detection were in the ranges 97-148 and 9.5-14.2 ng/mL, respectively. Evidence for a matrix effect was not found and recoveries between 92 and 110% were obtained. The precision of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation values, was below 5% in all cases. The applicability of this methodology was tested by analyzing synthetic and real food samples.

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Anisoles; Benzene Derivatives; Benzyl Compounds; Chromatography, Liquid; Coumarins; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Dioxolanes; Eugenol; Flavoring Agents; Food Analysis; Linear Models; Monoterpenes; Pyrogallol; Sensitivity and Specificity

Indian-made bidi cigarettes sold in the United States are available in a variety of exotic (e.g. clove, mango) and candy-like (e.g. chocolate, raspberry) flavors. Because certain tobacco flavorings contain alkenylbenzenes and other toxic or carcinogenic chemicals, we measured the concentration of flavor-related compounds in bidi tobacco using a previously developed method. Twenty-three brands of bidis were sampled using automated headspace solid-phase microextraction and subsequently analyzed for 12 compounds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Two alkenylbenzene compounds, trans-anethole and eugenol, were found in greater than 90% of the brands analyzed. Methyleugenol, pulegone and estragole were each detected in 30% or more of the brands, whereas safrole and elemicin were not detected in any of the brands. The flavor-related compounds with the highest tobacco concentrations were eugenol (12,000 microg/g tobacco) and trans-anethole (2200 microg/g tobacco). The highest eugenol and trans-anethole concentrations found in bidi tobacco were about 70,000 and 7500 times greater, respectively, than the highest levels previously found in US cigarette brands. Measurement of these compounds is crucial to evaluation of potential risks associated with inhaling highly concentrated flavor-related compounds from bidis or other tobacco products.

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Anisoles; Benzaldehydes; Benzodioxoles; Coumarins; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Eugenol; Flavoring Agents; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; India; Monoterpenes; Nicotiana